AnchorFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to searchFor other uses, see Anchor (disambiguation).Boat anchor redirects here. For the metaphor, see Boat anchor (metaphor).

Stockless ship's anchor and chain on display

Anchor of Amoco Cadiz in Portsall, north-west Brittany, France

Memorial anchor in Kirjurinluoto, Pori, FinlandAn anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα (ankȳra).[1][2]

Anchors can either be temporary or permanent. Permanent anchors are used in the creation of a mooring, and are rarely moved; a specialist service is normally needed to move or maintain them. Vessels carry one or more temporary anchors, which may be of different designs and weights.

A sea anchor is a drag device, not in contact with the seabed, used to minimise drift of a vessel relative to the water. A drogue is a drag device used to slow or help steer a vessel running before a storm in a following or overtaking sea, or when crossing a bar in a breaking sea.