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!

Cruise ship aids injured mariner through the AMVER rescue system

Today we'll talk about a wonderful worldwide network, called AMVER(Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue), originally created by the US Coast Guard. AMVER brings together ships at sea and mariners in trouble way off shore, making far-flung rescues possible that...

It’s a Pacific Northwest kind of week: rain, ships and fog horns

Today we'll talk about (and hear) some of the most familiar things we experience here on the river: rain, ships and fog horns.

Rose Festival Fleet finale, as ships head downriver and out to sea

Today we'll talk about the Rose Festival Fleet ships leaving the seawall in Portland, where they spent the weekend giving tours to visitors. They'll depart along with another military ship, the USNS Watkins, which has been in Astoria the past few days. They are the US...

Fleet Week Thursday: Tours begin on Rose Festival Ships in Portland

One final wrap up today on the Rose Festival Fleet which begins tours today in Portland. Ships are located on the seawall in Tom McCall Park, 10-4. Get there early because tours end promptly at 4 and if you are waiting on land at 4 you may not get in.  And I also...

Fleet Week Wednesday – Rose Festival Fleet Week ships arrive in Portland

All of the ships arriving from offshore heading to Portland are now in the River. Today we will look at the ships that will be in Portland this weekend for the Rose Festival. We'll also talk about what happens when visiting ships arrive in Portland, and how they are...

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

Cruise ship aids injured mariner through the AMVER rescue system

Today we'll talk about a wonderful worldwide network, called AMVER(Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue), originally created by the US Coast Guard. AMVER brings together ships at sea and mariners in trouble way off shore, making far-flung rescues possible that...

It’s a Pacific Northwest kind of week: rain, ships and fog horns

Today we'll talk about (and hear) some of the most familiar things we experience here on the river: rain, ships and fog horns.

Rose Festival Fleet finale, as ships head downriver and out to sea

Today we'll talk about the Rose Festival Fleet ships leaving the seawall in Portland, where they spent the weekend giving tours to visitors. They'll depart along with another military ship, the USNS Watkins, which has been in Astoria the past few days. They are the US...

Fleet Week Thursday: Tours begin on Rose Festival Ships in Portland

One final wrap up today on the Rose Festival Fleet which begins tours today in Portland. Ships are located on the seawall in Tom McCall Park, 10-4. Get there early because tours end promptly at 4 and if you are waiting on land at 4 you may not get in.  And I also...

Fleet Week Wednesday – Rose Festival Fleet Week ships arrive in Portland

All of the ships arriving from offshore heading to Portland are now in the River. Today we will look at the ships that will be in Portland this weekend for the Rose Festival. We'll also talk about what happens when visiting ships arrive in Portland, and how they are...

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.