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!

A closer look at unusual ship on the river this week

This week some shipwatchers noticed the GSL Eleni coming down river: an odd sight, she was a containership with no containers on board. We'll talk a little about her backstory. Photo of the GSL Eleni, courtesy Gregg Akehurst, shared with permission from the Ship...
More

A look at marine pilots on the river

Today we take a look at something that goes relatively unnoticed here on the river every day: the work of marine pilots on ships here on the Columbia River. They are part of a network of marine professionals who work behind the scenes to ensure safe transit of vessels...
More

The oft-misunderstood but essential lifejacket

In most drowning accidents, the victim was not wearing a PFD,  or lifejacket. It's a sad and somewhat bewildering statistic that most people don't wear a lifejacket when boating or otherwise in the water. Today we talk about some of the misconceptions about the lowly...
More

Drought at the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal region is in the midst of a drought, and there simply is not as much water in the canals and lakes as ships are accustomed to. Starting this week, they'll have to load less cargo. This will have a ripple effect through the shipping industry that will...
More

Where exactly is the Columbia River Bar?

This "simple" listener question sent me down an interesting path of research and talking with experts. The answers show the wide influence the power of the river has in our lives.
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

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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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A closer look at unusual ship on the river this week

This week some shipwatchers noticed the GSL Eleni coming down river: an odd sight, she was a containership with no containers on board. We'll talk a little about her backstory. Photo of the GSL Eleni, courtesy Gregg Akehurst, shared with permission from the Ship...
Listen

A look at marine pilots on the river

Today we take a look at something that goes relatively unnoticed here on the river every day: the work of marine pilots on ships here on the Columbia River. They are part of a network of marine professionals who work behind the scenes to ensure safe transit of vessels...
Listen

The oft-misunderstood but essential lifejacket

In most drowning accidents, the victim was not wearing a PFD,  or lifejacket. It's a sad and somewhat bewildering statistic that most people don't wear a lifejacket when boating or otherwise in the water. Today we talk about some of the misconceptions about the lowly...
Listen

Drought at the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal region is in the midst of a drought, and there simply is not as much water in the canals and lakes as ships are accustomed to. Starting this week, they'll have to load less cargo. This will have a ripple effect through the shipping industry that will...
Listen

Where exactly is the Columbia River Bar?

This "simple" listener question sent me down an interesting path of research and talking with experts. The answers show the wide influence the power of the river has in our lives.
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  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.

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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.