Deciphering Merchant Ship Hull Markings
May 10, 2018 Nautical Trivia Lenox Grasso
You may have noticed the mysterious numbers, letters, and symbols on a merchant ship’s hull. To most
of us, these merchant ship hull markings look like hieroglyphs. For those in the know, they speak vol-
umes about a particular ship and also about the shipping industry.
When a bulk carrier, container ship or tanker – the largest things on earth made by wo/men that move –
are docked in port, it’s safe enough to walk, sail, or motor by them to see the mysterious letters, num-
bers, and symbols written on their hulls. But don’t get that close to these behemoths when they are un-
derway to see these markings! Even when docked, stay a couple hundred feet away and at least 1000
feet away from military ships.
Probably the most intriguing markings are the hieroglyphic
Plimsoll Lines or International Load Lines visible in the first
photograph. The circle with a horizontal line through it is the original Plimsoll Line, dreamed up in 1876
by British Parliament member Samuel Plimsoll who was alarmed over the loss of ships and their crew
members due to deliberate cargo overloading by corrupt merchants who over-insured their vessels and
then preferred to see them founder. In reality, the first official maritime loading regulations are thought
to have originated with the Kingdom of Crete in 2500 BC. The Romans also had sea regulations for load-
ing. In the Middle Ages, Venice required a cross marked upon the side of a ship and the city of Genoa re-
quired three horizontal lines.
Back to Plimsoll Lines, as a ship is loaded in port, its hull sinks deeper into the water. When the horizon-
tal line in the circle, positioned amidships, on the sinking hull of a ship is at the surface of the water, the
ship is considered to be fully (and legally) loaded. The “LR” on either side of the Plimsoll Circle is the
ship’s registration authority, in this case the Lloyd’s Register of Marine Shipping.
The original Plimsoll Line worked best when loading a ship in summertime seawater in a temperate cli-
mate, like England. Today, this is what the letter “S” means. Other letters were added later to account for
differing buoyancies of water in different climates of the world. The letters to the right of the vertical line
are for seawater in “T” tropical, “S” summertime temperate, and “W” winter temperate climates. The
“WNA” below “W” is for seawater of the winter North Atlantic. The letters to the left of the vertical line are
for cargo loading a ship in “F” temperate fresh water and “TF” tropical fresh water.
Salty seawater is denser than fresh water. Cold water (either fresh or salty) is denser than warm water.
Denser means more buoyant. So, wait a minute, according to these load lines, only the least amount of
cargo is loaded in seawater of the winter North Atlantic Ocean although it’s the most buoyant. Why is
that? If a freighter ran only from Stockholm to London during the winter, it is true that it could be loaded
(illegally) with more cargo and still have sufficient freeboard. But Plimsoll lines take into account every-
where a freighter may travel, not just where it is when it’s loaded.
If this same freighter continues from London to Port Santana in Brazil very near the equator, its hull will
sink lower and lower as the seawater warms. Eventually, when it reaches the efflux of the Amazon River
delta where its fresh water can extend as far as 200 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, an overloaded freighter
may not have sufficient buoyancy or freeboard to guard against the hazard of high waves. In Port San-
tana, however, the freighter can be loaded until the ship’s hull sinks all the way down to the “TF” tropical
fresh water line because no matter where else the freighter travels in the world, it will not encounter wa-
ter any less buoyant than where it is now.
There are other hull markings in the second photograph. The white circle with an “X” within it indicates a
bow thruster that aids in maneuvering the bow of a ship sideways. This is very useful when un/docking.
The white symbol that resembles the numeral “3” signals that this ship is equipped with a bulbous bow
which is a protruding bulb at the front of a ship that may be entirely underwater when the ship is fully
loaded. A bulbous bow reduces the drag of a large ship underway by creating a wave of its own that par-
tially negates the bow wave of the ship. This increases speed, fuel efficiency, stability, and range of a
large ship underway by as much as 15%. Tugboat captains steer clear of both hidden bow thrusters and
bulbous bows to avoid damaging both the ship and the tug. The numbers arranged in a vertical line are
called draft marks. They measure the distance between the waterline and the lowest area of the ship’s
hull (the draft) that varies by cargo loading. The number at the waterline indicates the ship’s draft,
whether the ship is overloaded, and whether the ship is unevenly loaded and listing by comparing the
waterline depths on both sides of the ship.
More than 90,000 merchant ships ply international waters, transporting over 80 percent of world trade,
carrying billions of tons of goods every year. Tugboat captains and others who work in ports or on the
water have the best view and understanding of these ship hull markings. And now, so do you!
Inspiration for this article came from Hakai Magazine, for more trivia about merchant ships read the orig-
inal article, The Secret Language of Ships.
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About Lenox Grasso
Captain Lenox Grasso is a USCG Licensed 100-Ton Master with over 100,000 sea miles in over fifty
years on the water. He resides in Playa Vista, CA, and is an ASA-certified instructor. He does
private charters, boat deliveries, and sailing instruction in Southern California. He is also the
Instructor Coordinator for ASA. View all posts by Lenox Grasso →
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leonard molloy &
Very interesting article Lenox, many thanks for sharing this information with us.
Guest
+ 0 − Reply # 7 days ago
leonard molloy &
Very interesting information/article Lenox. Many thanks for sharing this knowledge with us.
Guest
+ 1 − Reply # 7 days ago
Ron Sasiela &
A clear explanation of the markings!
Guest
+ 0 − Reply # 7 days ago
Thanks, Lenox, for
Michael Pandzik an interesting &
article on this seemingly simple hull device. For smaller vessels (say, under 60′ and under power) the
advantages seem less clear. For an interesting continuation of the discussion, see
Guest [Link]
+ 0 − Reply # 7 days ago
Cindi S &
Very infomative article, thank you!
Guest
+ 0 − Reply # 7 days ago
Renzo SEE &
Sadly, a Trademark Bully has patented this 150-year-old Maritime Hallmark
[Link]
Guest
trademark-lawsuit/
+ 0 − Reply # 7 days ago
Charlie Nobles &
Great stuff to know to add spice to the ship’s log!
Guest
+ 0 − Reply # 6 days ago
Brad L. &
Thanks so much for this. I was just wondering about these markings as I was sailing this past weekend by
a container ship anchored outside Tacoma harbor. Perfect timing.
Guest
+ 0 − Reply # 6 days ago
