Sparkling modern ships! Al Messilah and its Plimsoll Line

So much for those modern ships eh. Al Messilah is hardly state of the art, built in 1980, converted from a car carrier in 1995 and 100% reliant on mechanical air supply as it is solid sided. It sailed from Fremantle yesterday with sheep conditioned to a miserable Southern hemisphere Winter heading into the height of a Middle Eastern summer…..

And check out the Plimsoll line - the marking on a ship's side showing the limit of legal submersion when loaded with cargo under various sea conditions. This red line (in between all the rust and the marks) disappears as it goes to the bow. Under Marine Orders 43, the trim of the ship has to allow drainage of the livestock pens. This ship appears lower (down) at the bow (front) but would likely drain from the the stern (back). Lets hope no pipes burst and flood the sheep pens as they wont be able to drain. The resulting increase in humidity could result in a fatal humidity spike, especially as the livestock onboard will be close to their physiological limits at this time of year with the existing predicted weather conditions once past the equator.

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One wonders how often the trim is checked on these ships once they are loaded and before they sail. This one certainly sailed an hour after this photo was taken with the angle of the Plimsoll line unchanged.