Answer: Option C
Answer: (c)
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water, in concept or reality.
Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line (positioned amidships), that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship may be loaded for specific water types and temperatures in order to safely maintain buoyancy, particularly with regard to the hazard of waves that may arise.
The purpose of a load line is to ensure that a ship has sufficient freeboard (the height from the water line to the main deck) and thus sufficient reserve buoyancy (e.g., the enclosed volume created by the area between the waterline and the main deck).
The freeboard of commercial vessels is measured between the lowest point of the uppermost continuous deck at the side and the waterline and this must not be less than the freeboard marked on the Load Line Certificate issued to that ship.