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 16 years on the air!

Plane crash debris prompts USCG search and rescue effort

USCG crews on the Columbia River spent part of Monday searching for survivors of a plane crash after a Good Samaritan reported wreckage near Kalama. The debris turned out to be from a crash last March. We'll talk about how the Coast Guard handles rescues, and how you...
More

Liquefaction: a dangeous twist of physics that makes some cargoes dangerous

Today we'll talk about liquefaction: the tendency of some cargoes that are solid (certain kinds of mineral ores), but can behave like liquids in a cargo hold under certain conditions. It's a dangeous consequence of basic physics and how cargoes are loaded and stored....
More

Update on river cruises: what passengers should expect

As river cruises nationwide open up again, there are some caveats passengers will have to follow. The most important rule of thumb is that rules are different in different states and you need to be ready to adapt if you go.
More

Steep rises in shipping costs mean higher prices for consumers

As the effects of the pandemic continue in global shipping, we're seeing prices rise sharply on container goods. The result could be higher prices on familiar goods, like coffee, toys and furniture. Some goods like anchovies and olives, could be hard to come by in...
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A look at clouds, the harbingers of weather

Today, a look at the three most common types of clouds we see: cirrus, stratus and cumulus. Each one can tell us something about what's next in the weather.
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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

Plane crash debris prompts USCG search and rescue effort

USCG crews on the Columbia River spent part of Monday searching for survivors of a plane crash after a Good Samaritan reported wreckage near Kalama. The debris turned out to be from a crash last March. We'll talk about how the Coast Guard handles rescues, and how you...
Listen

Liquefaction: a dangeous twist of physics that makes some cargoes dangerous

Today we'll talk about liquefaction: the tendency of some cargoes that are solid (certain kinds of mineral ores), but can behave like liquids in a cargo hold under certain conditions. It's a dangeous consequence of basic physics and how cargoes are loaded and stored....
Listen

Update on river cruises: what passengers should expect

As river cruises nationwide open up again, there are some caveats passengers will have to follow. The most important rule of thumb is that rules are different in different states and you need to be ready to adapt if you go.
Listen

A bit about that Heat Dome and how it relates to the Pacific Ocean

What's wth this "heat dome" situation we've been experiencing in the Pacific Northwest, in areas that are normally cool? We'll talk today about what causes a heat dome to occur. Part of it has to do with ocean temperatures in the Pacific. Image courtesy of National...
Listen

Cargo delays make early Christmas shopping a good bet

More on worldwide disruptions in container shipping. The result could be that things will get temporarily scarce in coming months, making early Christmas shopping a good idea.
Listen
10-Minute Ship Reports: Monday through Thursday, featuring  Daily Ship Traffic, Marine Weather, News and Interviews

Ship Report Minutes:  On Fridays, where we answer listener questions. Short and sweet!

The Ship Report is also broadcast Weekdays at 8:49 am on Coast Community Radio Astoria, Oregon

coastradio.org

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. Soon after this signal, you’ll see the pilot launch Arrow II head out to a passing ship, to facilitate the transfer of bar and river pilots.