Message to the Senate Transmitting Amendments to the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966

January 26, 1988

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate with a view to acceptance by the United States, amendments to regulations 47 and 48 of Annex II of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966. The report of the Department of State is also transmitted for the information of the Senate in connection with its consideration of these amendments.

The International Convention on Load Lines establishes uniform principles governing the safe loading of ships on international voyages. The annexes, which form an integral part of the Convention, embody the regulations for determining the location of ships' load lines. The annexes also divide the world's oceans into regions in which particular load lines must be observed depending on the season of the year in which the vessels operate. The amendments to regulations 47 and 48 of the Convention, proposed by the Government of Chile, would redefine the boundaries of the seasonal zones intersecting the coast of Chile. The effect would be to extend the tropical and summer zones toward the south to the advantage of both the Chilean coastal trade and visiting foreign trade.

I believe that the proposed amendments will not be detrimental to United States shipping and should be accepted. I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to these amendments, and give advice and consent to their acceptance by the United States.

Ronald Reagan

The White House,

January 26, 1988.