Safe anchoring

Anchors have been let go in the wrong place, at the wrong time and in the wrong way. Windlasses have been shattered. Anchors and cable have been lost. Vessels have been stranded, beached and run aground. Lives have been lost. These examples raise the question of whether the design limits, and the proper maintenance and use of both windlass and associated anchoring equipment, are sometimes misunderstood by those responsible for their ship’s safety.

Safe anchoring is one of the most critical skills of good seamanship. It is also one of the most basic. Worldwide though, the past twenty years have witnessed over a thousand sometimes fatal, always costly anchor related incidents at sea. In particular, this relates to large vessels and VLCCs.

In this training course, archive images dramatically illustrate the consequences of such misunderstandings. Against this background, the package highlights and explains in turn the proper function and design limits of windlass, anchor and cable aboard vessels of all sizes as well as demonstrating their correct use and maintenance.

Learning objectives:

• Know the proper function and design limits of windlass, anchor and cable
• Know the correct use and maintenance of windlass, anchor and cable
• Recognize a dragging anchor and know how to cope with it
• Understand the required onboard preparations for anchoring operations