3.7.7 Load lines should be assigned to surface
units as calculated under the terms of the 1966 Load Line Convention
and should be subject to all the conditions of assignment of that
Convention.
3.7.8 Where it is necessary to assign a greater
than minimum freeboard to meet intact or damage stability requirements
or on account of any other restriction imposed by the Administration,
regulation 6(6) of the 1966 Load Line Convention should apply. When
such a freeboard is assigned, seasonal marks above the centre of the
ring should not be marked and any seasonal marks below the centre
of the ring should be marked. If a unit is assigned a greater than
minimum freeboard at the request of the owner, regulation 6(6) need
not apply.
3.7.9 Where moonpools are arranged within the
hull in open communication with the sea, the volume of the moonpool
should not be included in the calculation of any hydrostatic properties.
If the moonpool has a larger cross-sectional area above the waterline
at 0.85D than below, an addition should be made to the geometric freeboard
corresponding to the lost buoyancy. This addition for the excess portion
above the waterline at 0.85D should be made as prescribed below for
wells or recesses. If an enclosed superstructure contains part of
the moonpool, deduction should be made for the effective length of
the superstructure. Where open wells or recesses are arranged in the
freeboard deck, a correction equal to the volume of the well or recess
to the freeboard deck divided by the waterplane area at 0.85D should
be made to the freeboard obtained after all other corrections,except
bow height correction, have been made. Free surface effects of the
flooded well or recess should be taken into account in stability calculations.
3.7.10 The procedure described in 3.7.9 should
also apply in cases of small notches or relatively narrow cut-outs
at the stern of the unit.
3.7.11 Narrow wing extensions at the stern of
the unit should be considered as appendages and excluded for the determination
of length (L) and for the calculation of freeboards. The Administration
should determine the effect of such wing extensions with regard to
the requirements for the strength of unit based upon length (L).