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!

The bulbous bow: an odd-looking, but very efficient, ship design feature

There's a unusual-looking ship design feature that's on pretty much all the ships that arrive here on the Columbia. When a ship is loaded, it's out of sight below the waterline, but on ships that are waiting for cargo, like in anchorages, you can sometimes see it....
More

Gulls and updrafts: why these birds seem to love the Megler Bridge

Today we'll talk a little about the movement of air, birds, and why the Astoria Megler Bridge is a great place to watch certain kinds of birds fairly close up, as they soar near the roadway. And why, according to birders, you really shouldn't refer to a gull as a...
More

Sneaker wave risk this week reminds us of cold water hazards at the beach

We'll have a sneaker wave beach hazard statement in effect later this week for our region, and it's a good opportunity to remind folks that sneaker wave risk is real, and potentially deadly. Even more so when the ocean water is so cold as it is right now.
More

The plumb bow: an interesting design feature on newer ships

Today we'll talk about a familiar sight these days on the waterfront: a ship with a plumb or straight up and down bow. There are reasons for this design feature, and we'll talk about some of them.
More

The HOS Black Watch: high tech offshore supply vessel on the river today

Today we have an vessel on the river, one of a type that we don't see very often. She's the HOS Black Watch, one of a kind of vessel that's used in special projects worldwide. It's called an Offshore Supply Vessel - a jack of all trades craft that can assist with...
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

Arts
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.

The Ship Report
Read the Ship Report Blog
Ship Report Podcasts

The bulbous bow: an odd-looking, but very efficient, ship design feature

There's a unusual-looking ship design feature that's on pretty much all the ships that arrive here on the Columbia. When a ship is loaded, it's out of sight below the waterline, but on ships that are waiting for cargo, like in anchorages, you can sometimes see it....
Listen

Gulls and updrafts: why these birds seem to love the Megler Bridge

Today we'll talk a little about the movement of air, birds, and why the Astoria Megler Bridge is a great place to watch certain kinds of birds fairly close up, as they soar near the roadway. And why, according to birders, you really shouldn't refer to a gull as a...
Listen

Sneaker wave risk this week reminds us of cold water hazards at the beach

We'll have a sneaker wave beach hazard statement in effect later this week for our region, and it's a good opportunity to remind folks that sneaker wave risk is real, and potentially deadly. Even more so when the ocean water is so cold as it is right now.
Listen

The plumb bow: an interesting design feature on newer ships

Today we'll talk about a familiar sight these days on the waterfront: a ship with a plumb or straight up and down bow. There are reasons for this design feature, and we'll talk about some of them.
Listen

The HOS Black Watch: high tech offshore supply vessel on the river today

Today we have an vessel on the river, one of a type that we don't see very often. She's the HOS Black Watch, one of a kind of vessel that's used in special projects worldwide. It's called an Offshore Supply Vessel - a jack of all trades craft that can assist with...
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.

Ship's Store

FEATURED:

The Columbia River
Ship Report

Quick Guide
to Shipwatching

Shop Now
Follow The Ship Report
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.