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!

First cruise ship for the Astoria season

Today the Nieuw Amsterdam, a 1000-foot long cruise ship arriving from San Diego, is the first blue water cruise ship to call on Astoria in 2026. She'll head for British Columbia when she leaves here. Today we'll talk about Astoria's cruise ship visitors and why they...

Of ebb tides and west winds

Today we'll talk about a common occurrence on the river that can affect sea state and make it more turbulent to be out there in a smaller vessel:  a west wind and an ebb tide. Understanding how to predict such conditions and plan for them is part of being a...

What does it mean to decommission a ship?

Today we'll talk about the fate of decommissioned ships. We have one on the river now, the USNS Watkins, which arrived yesterday headed to Vancouver. She'll be decommissioned, or taken out of service, in July. We'll talk about what's next for her.

USNS Watkins, a Military Sealift Command ship, enters the river Monday

Note: I'm publishing this podcast a day early because this ship will be arriving in the river around 8:30am Monday, and that's before the show airs on KMUN. This ship is a US Military Sealift Command ship, designed to be a vehicle carrier, a type of ship referred to a...

Mariners keep working even in bad weather

Yesterday we had some squalls blow through our area, bringing with them heavy rain, wind and fog. While we on land were turning our wipers on high or clutching our coats a little tighter, or just staying in, mariners were working as usual - just another day at the...

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

First cruise ship for the Astoria season

Today the Nieuw Amsterdam, a 1000-foot long cruise ship arriving from San Diego, is the first blue water cruise ship to call on Astoria in 2026. She'll head for British Columbia when she leaves here. Today we'll talk about Astoria's cruise ship visitors and why they...

Of ebb tides and west winds

Today we'll talk about a common occurrence on the river that can affect sea state and make it more turbulent to be out there in a smaller vessel:  a west wind and an ebb tide. Understanding how to predict such conditions and plan for them is part of being a...

What does it mean to decommission a ship?

Today we'll talk about the fate of decommissioned ships. We have one on the river now, the USNS Watkins, which arrived yesterday headed to Vancouver. She'll be decommissioned, or taken out of service, in July. We'll talk about what's next for her.

USNS Watkins, a Military Sealift Command ship, enters the river Monday

Note: I'm publishing this podcast a day early because this ship will be arriving in the river around 8:30am Monday, and that's before the show airs on KMUN. This ship is a US Military Sealift Command ship, designed to be a vehicle carrier, a type of ship referred to a...

Mariners keep working even in bad weather

Yesterday we had some squalls blow through our area, bringing with them heavy rain, wind and fog. While we on land were turning our wipers on high or clutching our coats a little tighter, or just staying in, mariners were working as usual - just another day at the...

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.