- Lloyd’s Register Rules and Regulations (1849-1976) now available on Archive.org
- Further access to essential maritime knowledge and information
The Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage & Education Centre (HEC) are pleased to announce the digitisation of the Lloyd’s Register Rules and Regulations (1849-1976).
From June 2023, the historic Rules and Regulations are freely available across Archive.org, Google Books and the HEC website.
Lloyd's Register Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classification of Steel Ships, 1975.
What are the Rules and Regulations?
Lloyd's Register's Rules and Regulations for the Classification of Ships were first published in 1834 (initially bound within the Register Book) to set appropriate standards for the design, construction and lifetime maintenance of ships.
The rules have been published in various forms throughout Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) history and have played an essential role in assuring the safety and quality of the construction and maintenance of ships and been a constant companion to thousands of surveyors, shipowners, and shipbuilders across the globe.
The rules offer a fascinating insight into when and how technological developments made their way into the maritime industry.
Why are the books useful?
Today, the LR Rules are still recognised as one of the most comprehensive and respected sets of standards in the maritime industry. To keep pace with changes in technology, market trends and new legislation, LR is dedicated to an on-going programme of research and development to enhance existing technical standards and publish new Rules.
The historic Rules and Regulations add to the increasing collection of digitised resources on the Heritage & Education website. Our online offering now includes over 1.1 million digitised items:
- Ship Plan and Survey Report Collection
- Lloyd’s Register of Shipping Books
- Casualty Returns
- List of Surveyors
- World Fleet Statistics
- Lloyd’s of London Missing Vessel Books
Michael Launchbury, Digital Archivist at the Heritage & Education Centre, said: “As the lead responsible for the digitisation of the Lloyd's Register’s Rules and Regulations, I am delighted to see these documents made available online; enhancing the accessibility of this valuable maritime knowledge. This project represents a significant step forward in safeguarding our company’s heritage for future generations; which began with the digitisation of our Register of Shipping collection. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to our former Digitisation Assistant, Max Rockliffe, whose hard work played a vital role in the successful completion of this project.”
The Rules and Regulations are freely available across three platforms:
To help explain the Rules and Regulations in more detail, read this blog on the historic Rules.
Explore the entire Rules and Regulations catalogue.
For more information on current rules, visit LR.org.
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