Mooring

An arrangement that secures a vessel to the seabed, shore or a fixed structure, or the act of using that arrangement.

A mooring may consist of lines to a berth, a permanent buoy and ground tackle, piles, dolphins, fore-and-aft anchors or another engineered system. Unlike anchoring with the vessel’s own anchor, a permanent mooring is normally installed and maintained for repeated use.

Suitability depends on vessel size, load, depth, tidal range, seabed, exposure and swing or surge room. Lines, shackles, swivels, chain, buoyancy and attachment points require inspection, and picking up a mooring does not guarantee its ownership, capacity or condition.