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!

Who’s on the river today?

Today we'll take a look at ship traffic, and at how the Columbia remains what it has historically been when it comes to cargo: an big export region for raw materials.
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A look at wind, waves and ships

We'll look at ships on the river today, and also talk about the relationship between wind and waves.
More

A look at who’s on the river, and ship paint and colors

Today we'll take a look at ship traffic and talk a little about the fairly standard color scheme you see on the bulk carriers that anchor here.
More

How local shipping gets back to normal after bad weather on the bar

We've had some interesting weather this week, including a thunderstorm warning that didn't quite materialize. But along with that storm came bad weather at sea, so difficult that the Columbia River Bar was on red status for the past day or so. That means ship traffic...
More

Stormy weather continues offshore

We got through our odd and threatening forecast yesterday, but while things have calmed down on land, they remain turbulent in the ocean offshore.
More

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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Ship Report Podcasts

Who’s on the river today?

Today we'll take a look at ship traffic, and at how the Columbia remains what it has historically been when it comes to cargo: an big export region for raw materials.
Listen

A look at wind, waves and ships

We'll look at ships on the river today, and also talk about the relationship between wind and waves.
Listen

A look at who’s on the river, and ship paint and colors

Today we'll take a look at ship traffic and talk a little about the fairly standard color scheme you see on the bulk carriers that anchor here.
Listen

How local shipping gets back to normal after bad weather on the bar

We've had some interesting weather this week, including a thunderstorm warning that didn't quite materialize. But along with that storm came bad weather at sea, so difficult that the Columbia River Bar was on red status for the past day or so. That means ship traffic...
Listen

Stormy weather continues offshore

We got through our odd and threatening forecast yesterday, but while things have calmed down on land, they remain turbulent in the ocean offshore.
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.