Maybe grab the end of a rope on a vessel (5)
I believe the answer is:
barge
'vessel' is the definition.
(barge is a kind of vessel)
'maybe grab the end of a rope' is the wordplay.
'maybe' is an anagram indicator.
'the end of' indicates one should take the final letters.
The last letter of 'rope' is 'e'.
'grab' is an anagram of 'barg'.
'barg'+'e'='BARGE'
'on a' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for barge that I've seen before include "River transport" , "Freight vessel" , "Wide, flat-bottomed boat" , "Shove, lighter" , "force" .)