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!

Northern lights, ship schedule, weather and a bit about ship names

Today we'll look at the unusual appearance of aurora borealis in our region, the extended weather forecast (when will we return to our typical rainy pattern?), a look at the schedule and a bit about ship names.
More

A look at ships and cargo

Today let's take a look at who's on the river, but also review a bit of general info about the types of ships that come here, where they come from, and some significant differences between them.
More

Salt vs fresh water: how does salinity affect sea conditions?

Today we'll walk about an interesting but obscure topic for most land dwellers: how stormy sea conditions can vary between large bodies of fresh and salt water, like the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean. It's not something we usually think about on land, but mariners...
More

Good weather coming our way, and a look at ships and cargo

We have what looks to be a week-long spell of sunshine or at least "not-raining" coming our way. We'll also take a look at ships and cargo, and how cargo determines the types of ships you see in a given region.
More

A foggy time on the lower Columbia River

It's been pretty foggy in parts of the lower Columbia region the past few days. Or not foggy at all, depending on where you are. It's part of a a larger pattern this week statewide of dense foggy conditions. We'll talk about what might be causing our fog here and what...
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

Curated Links

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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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Ship Report Podcasts

Northern lights, ship schedule, weather and a bit about ship names

Today we'll look at the unusual appearance of aurora borealis in our region, the extended weather forecast (when will we return to our typical rainy pattern?), a look at the schedule and a bit about ship names.
Listen

A look at ships and cargo

Today let's take a look at who's on the river, but also review a bit of general info about the types of ships that come here, where they come from, and some significant differences between them.
Listen

Salt vs fresh water: how does salinity affect sea conditions?

Today we'll walk about an interesting but obscure topic for most land dwellers: how stormy sea conditions can vary between large bodies of fresh and salt water, like the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean. It's not something we usually think about on land, but mariners...
Listen

Good weather coming our way, and a look at ships and cargo

We have what looks to be a week-long spell of sunshine or at least "not-raining" coming our way. We'll also take a look at ships and cargo, and how cargo determines the types of ships you see in a given region.
Listen

A foggy time on the lower Columbia River

It's been pretty foggy in parts of the lower Columbia region the past few days. Or not foggy at all, depending on where you are. It's part of a a larger pattern this week statewide of dense foggy conditions. We'll talk about what might be causing our fog here and what...
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.