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!

A look at Alaska’s recent coastal weather disaster

Last weekend a typhoon his western Alaska north of the Aleutians, with devastating consequences for coastal communities there. A reminder to all of us who live on the edge of the world, that most of our weather comes to us from the ocean.
More

A look at the ship schedule, the weather and the origin of the term “ides” on this, the Ides of October

In the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of March marked the 15th of that month, and a fateful day in history for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare's play, named for him, the story recounts a historical fact: that Caesar was assassinated on March 15 (The Ides...
More

Interesting ships on the river Tuesday

While all ships are inherently interesting, we have a few unusual ones passing by on Tuesday. One will visit the Port of Astoria. We'll see a new Military Sealift Command replenishment oiler headed to the Portland shipyard, a container ship (we don't see them as often...
More

A look at transit times – how long it takes to get from one place to another by ship

Today we'll look at transit times, how long it takes a ship to go from one place to another at sea, and here on the river.
More

The pilot boat Peacock, now a museum exhibit, was a real game changer for Columbia River commerce

This week marks 15 years since the pilot boat Peacock was lifted out of the Columbia River and placed on land, on the campus of the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, where she welcomes people traveling past the museum on Marine Drive. She's now a retired icon...
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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A look at Alaska’s recent coastal weather disaster

Last weekend a typhoon his western Alaska north of the Aleutians, with devastating consequences for coastal communities there. A reminder to all of us who live on the edge of the world, that most of our weather comes to us from the ocean.
Listen

A look at the ship schedule, the weather and the origin of the term “ides” on this, the Ides of October

In the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of March marked the 15th of that month, and a fateful day in history for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare's play, named for him, the story recounts a historical fact: that Caesar was assassinated on March 15 (The Ides...
Listen

Interesting ships on the river Tuesday

While all ships are inherently interesting, we have a few unusual ones passing by on Tuesday. One will visit the Port of Astoria. We'll see a new Military Sealift Command replenishment oiler headed to the Portland shipyard, a container ship (we don't see them as often...
Listen

A look at transit times – how long it takes to get from one place to another by ship

Today we'll look at transit times, how long it takes a ship to go from one place to another at sea, and here on the river.
Listen

The pilot boat Peacock, now a museum exhibit, was a real game changer for Columbia River commerce

This week marks 15 years since the pilot boat Peacock was lifted out of the Columbia River and placed on land, on the campus of the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, where she welcomes people traveling past the museum on Marine Drive. She's now a retired icon...
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.