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 weather, ships arriving, and a look at a common cargo: toluene

We'll take a look at a tanker coming into Kalama, whose cargo is a liquid called toluene. We'll talk about what it is and what it's used for. Turns out we all probably have some toluene in our lives.
More

King Tides and weather are here

King Tides are happening today, so expect high tides around midday and an atmospheric river event that will amplify hazards on beaches and in flood prone areas. Be careful out there.
More

King Tides FAQ

We've got King Tides happening starting tomorrow through Friday this week, and you've probably heard about it if you live in our coastal region. But what does that mean really? Today we'll talk about the nuts and bolts of King Tides - a sort of "King Tides FAQ."
More

King Tides happening this week, plus an atmospheric river, could bring beach and flooding hazards

We've got King Tides arriving later this week, around the same time as the arrival of an atmospheric river weather system. Higher than normal tides and weather effects  could mean increased beach hazards, and some inland flooding. We'll keep an eye on it.
More

Big atmospheric river in store next week

I'm afraid it 's more weather - we'll take a look at a forecast from UW meteorologist Cliff Mass that bears watching, predicting a big atmospheric river headed our way next week.
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

More weather, ships arriving, and a look at a common cargo: toluene

We'll take a look at a tanker coming into Kalama, whose cargo is a liquid called toluene. We'll talk about what it is and what it's used for. Turns out we all probably have some toluene in our lives.
Listen

King Tides and weather are here

King Tides are happening today, so expect high tides around midday and an atmospheric river event that will amplify hazards on beaches and in flood prone areas. Be careful out there.
Listen

King Tides FAQ

We've got King Tides happening starting tomorrow through Friday this week, and you've probably heard about it if you live in our coastal region. But what does that mean really? Today we'll talk about the nuts and bolts of King Tides - a sort of "King Tides FAQ."
Listen

King Tides happening this week, plus an atmospheric river, could bring beach and flooding hazards

We've got King Tides arriving later this week, around the same time as the arrival of an atmospheric river weather system. Higher than normal tides and weather effects  could mean increased beach hazards, and some inland flooding. We'll keep an eye on it.
Listen

Big atmospheric river in store next week

I'm afraid it 's more weather - we'll take a look at a forecast from UW meteorologist Cliff Mass that bears watching, predicting a big atmospheric river headed our way next week.
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.