🔍 Key Concepts

• Names of mooring lines depend on where they are attached on the vessel and the direction the line leads along the pier. • A spring line runs generally fore‑and‑aft along the dock to prevent the ship from moving ahead or astern. • A breast or stern line runs more nearly at a right angle to the dock, mainly controlling how far the vessel lies off the pier.

💭 Think About

• Look at point D: from the ship toward the dock, does this line lead more forward toward the bow or aft toward the stern along the pier? • Ask yourself whether line D is running mostly fore‑and‑aft (spring) or mostly straight in toward the pier (breast). • Compare line D with the clearly bow‑ and stern‑most lines in the picture. Which way is D trying to stop the ship from moving: ahead or astern?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify whether line D is attached near the mid‑section of the ship or at the extreme bow or stern. • Confirm the direction of the lead along the dock from ship to shore: is it toward the bow or toward the stern? • Match that direction with the naming convention: a line leading forward along the dock is a forward spring; a line leading aft along the dock is an after spring; a line nearly perpendicular is a breast line; one from the stern at an angle is a stern line.