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!

Fleet Week Tuesday

Ships are starting to arrive in the river for the Portland Rose Festival; they're the part of the festival referred to as Fleet Week. I'll be tracking the ships as they arrive and sharing that information here. Today two ships head upriver: the Canadian Navy ship the...

It’s Rose Festival Fleet week on the Columbia

This week we'll begin seeing ships arriving to head to Portland for the Rose Festival as part of the Festival Fleet. One ship is already in town on Astoria: the USS Chafee, a Navy destroyer, which will head to Portland around midnight tonight. I'll announce other...

A look at patterns in our ship traffic and the river system

We see a lot of the same kinds of ships here, going to a set series of places. Today we'll talk about different kinds of ships, and ports, and the inland water highway that makes much of our commerce possible.

A look at Astoria’s annual Memorial Day tribute to mariners

Today we’ll take a look at a memorial day commemoration that happened here in Astoria on Monday. This event has, in fact, happened each year, for many years. Family and friends gather on the banks of the Columbia for the annual Uniontown Association Maritime Memorial...

Memorial Day update

Today's report is a short update - since it's a holiday. But there are a few things I want to let you know about: Sneaker wave warning for area beaches Rain in the forecast And about that mysterious heavy lift ship that was in the Astoria Anchorage on Sunday. I'm...

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

Fleet Week Tuesday

Ships are starting to arrive in the river for the Portland Rose Festival; they're the part of the festival referred to as Fleet Week. I'll be tracking the ships as they arrive and sharing that information here. Today two ships head upriver: the Canadian Navy ship the...

It’s Rose Festival Fleet week on the Columbia

This week we'll begin seeing ships arriving to head to Portland for the Rose Festival as part of the Festival Fleet. One ship is already in town on Astoria: the USS Chafee, a Navy destroyer, which will head to Portland around midnight tonight. I'll announce other...

A look at patterns in our ship traffic and the river system

We see a lot of the same kinds of ships here, going to a set series of places. Today we'll talk about different kinds of ships, and ports, and the inland water highway that makes much of our commerce possible.

A look at Astoria’s annual Memorial Day tribute to mariners

Today we’ll take a look at a memorial day commemoration that happened here in Astoria on Monday. This event has, in fact, happened each year, for many years. Family and friends gather on the banks of the Columbia for the annual Uniontown Association Maritime Memorial...

Memorial Day update

Today's report is a short update - since it's a holiday. But there are a few things I want to let you know about: Sneaker wave warning for area beaches Rain in the forecast And about that mysterious heavy lift ship that was in the Astoria Anchorage on Sunday. I'm...

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.