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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 16 years on the air!

Situational awareness – an essential quality for mariners

Today's show is about situational awareness, the skill of paying attention to what's happening around you even when your tendency might be to daydream. It's a factor in maritime accidents, and avoiding them, and is just part of the challenging work that mariners do....

The 114th anniversary of the wreck of the Peter Iredale

Yesterday marked the 114th anniversary of the wreck of the sailing cargo ship Peter Iredale, which ran ashore in foggy conditions on the ocean beach at Clatsop Spit on October 25, 1906. Parts of her steel frame remain on the beach as a reminder of the hazards of...

Harrowing beach rescue equipment from bygone days

Before we had the modern ships, planes and helicopters the USCG uses now to rescue people in trouble at sea, we had the US Lifesaving Service, which operated locally here on the Long Beach Peninsula and other area beaches. Today we take a look at the equipment they...

Waterfront reflections on the river we love

Most of us who live near the river seldom venture out on it. But we love it all the same. Today we hear from a chef at a popular waterfront restaurant and brewery in Astoria, about how his kinship with the river, and his closeness to it, sustains him through...

Beaufort Wind Scale, Part 2

More today on the Beaufort Wind Scale... after yesterday's podcast was cut off because of radio broadcast difficulties, I decided to redo the show so that listeners would be sure to hear about this historic, fun and useful scale that is still widely used today. In my...

Columbia River Ship Traffic

Approximate Vessel Travel Times

(Times vary according to tidal conditions, current, weather, and individual vessel horsepower)

Portland/Vancouver -Astoria: 6-8 hours
Kalama -Astoria: 5 hours
Longview -Astoria: 3.5 hours
Columbia River Bar – Astoria: 1.5 hours

Water Speed & Currents

Curated Links

Arts

Local

Maritime

NOAA

Photos

Tsunami

Video

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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Situational awareness – an essential quality for mariners

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Beaufort Wind Scale, Part 2

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The Beaufort Wind Scale, Part 1

This legendary scale for determining wind speed by looking at what's happening around you was developed in the 1880s by an Irish military officer named Francis Beaufort. It's still used today by sailors on land and at sea to tell how hard the wind is blowing by the...

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As pandemic continues, cruise ships are getting scrapped

One consequence of the cessation of cruises during the pandemic is that idle cruise ships are deterorating from lack of use. And more and more of them are simply being scrapped by companies who no longer want to pay to maintain them.

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Successful California ship awards program reduces whale strikes

Today we'll talk about a successful California program that rewards shipping companies for slowing down in marine sanctuary waters to avoid whale strikes. The program is saving whales and reducing pollution.

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10-Minute Ship Reports: Monday through Thursday, featuring Daily Ship Traffic, Marine Weather, News and Interviews

Ship Report Minutes: On Fridays, where we answer listener questions. Short and sweet!

The Ship Report is also broadcast Weekdays at 8:49 am on Coast Community 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. Soon after this signal, you’ll see the pilot launch Arrow II head out to a passing ship, to facilitate the transfer of bar and river pilots.