23. Lloyd’s Register of Ships
In 1764 Lloyd’s printed its first Register of Ships, a listing of all ships and the condition of both their hulls and upper works. The register was printed in order that marine insurance underwriters had a ready reference of the material condition of the vessels they were asked to insure. Hulls were graded alphabetically (A being the highest rating) and upper works, which at the time was the masts and rigging, were graded numerically (1 being best) which gave rise to the British expression A1 at Lloyds referring to something being above reproach.
The register continues publication annually in the 21st century, listing all self-propelled vessels of 100 tons or greater. Once a vessel is listed in the register it remains there with each subsequent edition until it is removed as a result of the vessel being sunk or otherwise wrecked, sold for scrapping, or hulked (rendered incapable of going to sea, but afloat). Lloyd’s Register is not part of the company known around the world as Lloyd’s of London, nor are they affiliated today, though both trace their history to the coffee shop owned by Edward Lloyd in Tower Street in London in the late 17th century.
