. 1966 Load Line Convention For many years the wish to amend the 1966 Load Line Convention has been frustrated by the need for explicit approval of all amendments by two-thirds of the states which have ratified the original convention. In such cases the 'inertia factor' invariably seems to rule the day, and amendments sit on the shelf gathering dust. To circumvent the problem a Protocol to the 1966 Convention was adopted in 1988, but that too has been lying stagnant for ten years awaiting ratification. Recently, however, the necessary tonnage level has at last been achieved and the Protocol will enter into force in February 2000. An all-important provision in the Protocol is the tacit acceptance amendment procedure, which should ensure that necessary amendments will not in future be delayed by procedural difficulties. The danger now is that the flood gates will open, and that over the coming months it will be difficult to restrain the enthusiasts who are already talking about the need for a wholesale revision of the Convention. Some changes may be needed, but the load line concept has stood the test of time and ICS will encourage caution in the discussions ahead. .