When a ship is 'fetching up' at anchor, what happens to the anchor chain tension?

• A. The strain on the anchor chain will increase and then fall off slowly
• B. The strain remains constant
• C. The chain slackens instantly
• D. The chain goes slack immediately

Answer: (A)

When a vessel comes up to its anchor, the chain doesn’t carry load right away; it starts to take the strain as the ship’s forward motion is arrested. As the ship decelerates and the anchor begins to bite, the distance between ship and anchor shrinks and the chain becomes taut, so the tension on the chain rises. Once the anchor is set and the ship settles, the overall load on the chain tends to ease off gradually as the vessel swings with wind and current and the forces balance out. So the tension increases during the approach and then falls off slowly, rather than staying constant or going slack instantly.