The Ship Report is All Things Maritime!

Ship Report podcasts take you to a special corner of the world: the Mighty Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. Nautical lore, news and info, mariner interviews, daily international ship traffic, and the inside scoop on our formidable marine weather. Join maritime journalist Joanne Rideout on the Ship Report, as we explore the fascinating nautical world, on the Upper Left Edge of Oregon and beyond.  The Ship Report is proud to celebrate 20 years on the air!

More about ships and cargo on the river today

A snapshot of who's on the river today, and a bit about anomalies in the ship schedule, and a look at one cargo ship that's arriving today that isn't handling any cargo at all.
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Who’s on the river today?

A look at today's ship schedule, with details about various about ships, protocols and cargo.
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Video interview with Fisher Poet Pat Dixon, author of Mending Holes

I interviewed Fisher Poet and author Pat Dixon recently about the release of his new book of poems, Mending Holes. Here's the full video interview we did. Many thanks to Brad Wartman, of The Fisher Poetry Archive, for his help recording and producing this interview on...
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New pilot boat on the river

We've got a new pilot boat operating on the Astoria waterfront these days. She's called the "Swift" and she's a new addition to the local fleet. Today we'll talk about her and also about pilot boats in general: a very unusual breed of vessel.
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Meteorological fall, happening now in a hemisphere near you

Yesterday, September 1, marked the beginning of meteorological fall in the Northern Hemisphere. It's a great time of year to discuss the difference between the two falls: meteorological and astronomical.
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Columbia River Ship Traffic

GO
Approximate Vessel Travel Times
  • Portland/Vancouver -Astoria: 6-8 hours
  • Kalama -Astoria: 5 hours
  • Longview -Astoria: 3.5 hours
  • Columbia River Bar – Astoria: 1.5 hours
Times vary according to tidal conditions, current, weather, and individual vessel horsepower.
Water Speed & Currents

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Tides

When’s High Tide where you are?  Find Tidal info at www.saltwatertides.com

Tide times are often listed in 24 hour time.  For times after noon, subtract 1200 from the time to get regular clock time. Ex: 1300 hrs – 1200 = 1:00 pm)

MLLW:  Also, tides are referenced to Mean Lower Low Water, a reference point for depth on many nautical charts. MLLW is the average of the lower of the two low tides in a day, over a 19-year cycle. Minus tides are lower than MLLW.

Adjustments: If you’re right on the coast, subtract an hour from these times. Upriver, highs and lows happen later. For instance, in Knappa, add an hour. In Clatskanie, add 2 hours and 15 minutes.

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More about ships and cargo on the river today

A snapshot of who's on the river today, and a bit about anomalies in the ship schedule, and a look at one cargo ship that's arriving today that isn't handling any cargo at all.
Listen

Who’s on the river today?

A look at today's ship schedule, with details about various about ships, protocols and cargo.
Listen

New pilot boat on the river

We've got a new pilot boat operating on the Astoria waterfront these days. She's called the "Swift" and she's a new addition to the local fleet. Today we'll talk about her and also about pilot boats in general: a very unusual breed of vessel.
Listen

Meteorological fall, happening now in a hemisphere near you

Yesterday, September 1, marked the beginning of meteorological fall in the Northern Hemisphere. It's a great time of year to discuss the difference between the two falls: meteorological and astronomical.
Listen

From the Ship Report Archives: Running lights on ships

I'm taking a break from the show this week. Today's show is from the Ship Report Archives, all about the kinds of lights you see on ships at night as they are passing by or anchored in the river.
Listen

The Ship Report, the show about All Things Maritime, features maritime news and information, local and international, based in the Pacific Northwest in Astoria, Oregon. shipreport.net. Podcasts available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts

The Ship Report is also broadcast  Weekdays at 8:49 am on  KMUN Radio Astoria, Oregon

Columbia River Bar
Pacific NW Coast Bar Closure Info from NOAA.

Also on Facebook and Twitter (US Coast Guard).

“Pilot transfer” is when a pilot disembarks or boards a ship. Ships generally must by law have a river or bar pilot on board when they are on the Columbia or Willamette Rivers. The bar and river pilots have separate pilotage grounds defined by the Oregon Legislature.

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Meet Joanne Rideout
Producer Joanne Rideout is a journalist and photographer who created The Ship Report in 2003. Since then Joanne and has been interviewing, writing and photographing the maritime world and its interesting people as much as she possibly can.
Ship Horn Signals

Commonly Heard off Astoria

One prolonged blast every two minutes or less: vessel operating in fog.

Five consecutive horn blasts: warning signal that means literally “I do not know your intention.” This generally means another vessel is in the way of a ship in the channel, and is being asked to move before they collide.

Three short blasts: Vessel going in reverse

One long blast followed by three short: signal for the change of pilots.