Anchoring

Appropriate personnel with helmet, goggles, torches to be sent forward.

Both the anchors to be cleared away.

Check the windlass is working properly.

Anchor being used to be lowered to cockbill.

Anchors to be used alternately.

The brake is screwed and windlass is taken out of gear.

Draft of the vessel.

Nature of seabed.

Any obstruction on the seabed.

Tide, tidal stream, direction and rate.

Shelter from heavy weather, sea, swell.

Security of the vessel.

Length of stay.

Purpose of anchoring, eg, cargo operation, repair, transferring of persons.

Traffic density.

Distance from shore.

Size of vessel.

Loaded/ballast condition.

Type of cargo.

Requirement of port.

Nature of the holding ground.

Amount of swinging room available for the ship as the wind or stream changes direction.

Degree of exposure to bad weather in the anchorage.

Strength of wind or stream. As it increases, the ship moves stern. The cable is lifted from the bottom and it becomes long stay.

Duration of stay at the anchorage.

Type of anchor and cable.

Length of mild steel cable may be taken approximately 25ÖD (D is depth of water).

Approach at slow speed.

Stop vessel by going astern.

Let go anchor when the vessel looses headway. It can be determined by seeing the propeller was abeam.

The engine is kept going dead slow astern as the anchor is let go.

Engine is stopped immediately.

Vessel drifts astern laying her cable.

Engine is touched ahead when required scope is paid out, so vessel gets her cable gently.

Anchoring may be done in slight headway, cable grows continuously astern. It may cause deterioration of the paintwork of the hull.

Cable is let go on the run.

Allowed about double of the depth before checking it by brake.

If anchor is snubbed as soon as it touches the bottom, it will be unable to grip.

The anchor is walked back to within 4-5m from sea bed.

Let go from brake.

It ensures anchor will not damage itself.

Cable will not run rapidly as it becomes difficult to hold by brakes.

Entire operation is done on winch.

Gypsy should not be taken out of gear at all.

Approach anchorage heading upwind.

Ship is more easily controlled and will make little leeway.

If wind cannot be brought ahead, the anchoring can be done usual way.

In the case, engines to be used to reduce stress on the cable.

Weather anchor to be used.

Stem the tide, even if wind is present.

Lee anchor to be used if wind is present.

Anchor on sternway (or headway).

Helm to be used to control the heading.

If stream cannot be stemmed, cable to be laid out slackly across the axis of the stream.

Floating objects overside may be used to determine whether the ship has headway.