Like a seabird following a ship (6)
I believe the answer is:
astern
'like a seabird following a ship' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'like a seabird following' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'as'.
'a seabird' becomes 'tern' (tern is a kind of seabird).
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'as'+'tern'='ASTERN'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for astern that I've seen before include "Towards a ship's rear" , "Toward the back of a boat" , "Rearward" , "Abaft" , "Towards back of boat" .)