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!

Fisher Poets Gathering Spotlight: Tele Aadsen

As this weekend's annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon, approaches, we'll take a look today at a PNW author who's been a regular at the event for years: Tele Aadsen. Tele published her first book in 2023, What Water Holds, and today we'll hear a reading...

Annual Columbia River dam and lock maintenance begins in March

The Columbia River has dams and locks inland from Vancouver, and billions in commerce pass though those locks each year by tug and barge. After all that wear and tear, the Army Corps of Engineers schedules yearly maintenance periods during which locks are closed and...

The Fisher Poets Gathering approaches

Today we'll talk a little about the annual Fisher Poets Gethering happening this coming weekend in Astoria. And a look at today's ship traffic.

A look at the people in port who make ship transits and port stays happen

We've been talking this week on the show about People on the ships we see. So far we've talked about the people on board. Today we'll talk about an important additional piece of things: the portside army of professionals who make it possible for ships to arrive,...

Food: an essential ingredient to a happy life on board ship

Today, continuing this week's theme of people on board ship, we'll talk about food. Fresh, well-prepared meals are essential to crew morale. Without a good meal after a hard work shift, sailors can get pretty discouraged as they labor for months without much time off....

Columbia River Ship Traffic

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

Curated Links

Arts
Tsunami
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.

The Ship Report
Ship Report Podcasts

Fisher Poets Gathering Spotlight: Tele Aadsen

As this weekend's annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon, approaches, we'll take a look today at a PNW author who's been a regular at the event for years: Tele Aadsen. Tele published her first book in 2023, What Water Holds, and today we'll hear a reading...

Annual Columbia River dam and lock maintenance begins in March

The Columbia River has dams and locks inland from Vancouver, and billions in commerce pass though those locks each year by tug and barge. After all that wear and tear, the Army Corps of Engineers schedules yearly maintenance periods during which locks are closed and...

A look at the people in port who make ship transits and port stays happen

We've been talking this week on the show about People on the ships we see. So far we've talked about the people on board. Today we'll talk about an important additional piece of things: the portside army of professionals who make it possible for ships to arrive,...

Food: an essential ingredient to a happy life on board ship

Today, continuing this week's theme of people on board ship, we'll talk about food. Fresh, well-prepared meals are essential to crew morale. Without a good meal after a hard work shift, sailors can get pretty discouraged as they labor for months without much time off....

Life at Sea

This week's theme on the Ship Report is People: the people on the ships we see passing by each day. Today we'll talk about what it's like at sea on board a cargo ship - what people do when they are at work and when they are off work, and what the rhythm of life is...

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
“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.