Quick answer
Quick answer
Use the Docking Panel to connect mooring points and manage line tension. Keep cargo-loading lines slack enough for the ship to move as its load changes.
Read the guideGuide notes
Choose tension for the operation
For normal mooring, click a ship mooring point to connect to the nearest shore point, then adjust length with the mouse wheel. The docking manual uses the “tight” status as the ordinary target. Pilot pickup also explicitly calls for tight lines.
Guide notes
Cargo loading is the exception
The Ship Panel manual adds an important exception: loading and unloading require the ship at a dock with enough lines, but those lines must not be tightened. Changing cargo mass moves the vessel; excessive restraint can snap lines and stop loading. Do not apply the pilot-pickup rule blindly to cargo work.
Questions & limits
Questions & limits
Diagnose a broken line
Compare applied force with the line’s maximum force. Weather, engine power and loading can all raise strain. The line-type menu changes diameter, material, length and strength. No single type or numerical tension target is established as best for every ship.
Sources
Last checked: 2026-09-13