A vessel swings the ship to ______ to account for deviation.

• A. Determined Deviation
• B. True Course
• C. Set and Drift
• D. Fixed Objects

Answer: (A)

The key idea is compass deviation and how it’s determined and used. When a vessel swings the compass, the crew compares the magnetic reading with known bearings to map out how the ship’s own magnetic field affects the compass. The result of this process is a set of deviation values for different headings—the corrections you apply to the compass readings. That collected correction is what you use to account for deviation, so the phrase that fits best is the determined deviation.

Deviations are specific to the vessel and vary with heading, which is why you establish them through swinging and then reference them to correct future readings. The other terms refer to different concepts: true course is the intended path relative to true north, set and drift describe current effects on movement, and fixed objects aren’t related to correcting compass error.