Load lines are painted on the side of a ship to show how low it may safely rest in the water. The 1966 International Convention on Load Lines (ICLL) is administered by the International Maritime Organization, and sets out detailed regulations on the assignment of the freeboard (the vertical distance between the top of the hull and the waterline) and the specific limitations to which different types of ships may be loaded. This publication contains the text of the 1966 Convention, the articles of the 1988 Protocol and amendments, the unified interpretations of the 1966 Convention approved by the Maritime Safety Committee up to December 2004, and the Form of Record conditions of assignment of load lines accepted by the Maritime Safety Committee.