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KeelhaulingKeelhauling was a form of corporal punishment meted out to sailors at sea. The sailor was tied to a rope looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard, and then dragged under the keel and up the other side. Alternatively the sailor was dragged from bow to stern. Keelhauling along the length of the hull was generally a death sentence since it could take as long as three minutes, and perhaps longer, to walk the ropes all the way back to the stern, resulting in death by drowning. Often the ropes caught and dragged on barnacles on the ship's hull: the barnacles ripped the victim's clothing and skin to shreds as he was dragged along. In most cases, this was not an official punishment but a customary one imposed by the captain. It is alleged that this was common amongst pirates. Keelhauling was only legally permitted as a punishment in the Netherlands Navy. The process used by the Netherlands Navy was to draw the offender under the keel from side to side. This was done at a steady pace, fast enough to avoid drowning but not so fast that he was dragged against the hull and severely hurt by the barnacles. The punishment could be repeated several times if the ship's surgeon agreed. The earliest official mention of keelhauling is a Dutch ordinance of 1560: the practice was not formally abolished until 1853.
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