The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:
Archive Podcasts:
The lives of ships
When you see a ship passing on the river, whether inbound or outbound, what you are seeing is a brief snapshot in the long life of that vessel, and the lives of the folks on board. Today we’ll talk about the lives of ships.
Podcast: Play in new window
Tides: how they’re measured and why they happen
Tides play such a big role in our waters both on the ocean and the river. It’s good to revisit some things about them from time to time: like why they happen, how they are measured, and how they can complicate things for folks out on the river in vessels, but make things more fun for clammers.
Podcast: Play in new window
Cool spring conditions remind us of cold water dangers
A reminder that we live in the Pacific Northwest, a beautiful place with cold waters and strong currents year round. As the weather gets nice, let’s keep in mind that our waters remain chilly and life threatening for the unprepared.
Podcast: Play in new window
A look at how ships load and balance cargo, and why it’s so important
Cargo is loaded onto ships very deliberately and with a lot of calculation and forethought. Part of the reason is to anticipate how that cargo must be unloaded and in what order, at the dock.
But even more important, imbalanced cargo can lead to tragedy and loss at sea, and even right at the dock.
Podcast: Play in new window
Polar Star returns from Antarctica
I always like talking about this ship, because of her unique job and the role she plays in keeping people safe in a challenging part of the world.
The USCG icebreaker Polar Star is a ship specially designed to handle difficult conditions that would sink most vessels. She’s an older ship, but well maintained, and she just returned from a special annual mission in Antarctica.
Podcast: Play in new window
Weather and some ship talk
Today we talk about the weather – always a fascinating topic in our coastal region. And some interesting details about today’s arriving ships.
Podcast: Play in new window
Norwegian Jade in town, and a look at tides and ships
A few things today: a closer look at our cruise ship du jour in Astoria, a look at ships coming and going, and a reminder of how ships at anchor let us know what the tide is doing.
Podcast: Play in new window
Second cruise ship of the season comes to Astoria Thursday
The second cruise ship of the season comes to Astoria on Thursday, and it’s a good opportunity to talk more about these big ships, carrying many passengers, and what Astoria will see here as we move through the season.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Abxbay, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Podcast: Play in new window
Cold weather on the way
We have an unusual spring snow storm on the way in the Cascades starting today, and colder than usual weather for the coast too. We’ll talk about how conditions up north allowed this cold air to flow down to us, and create winter like conditions in the middle of April.
Podcast: Play in new window
The shipyard at Swan Island
So many times over the years I have said on this show that a ship is headed for “the shipyard at Swan Island.”
Today we’ll take a closer look at that facility, who owns it, and why it has, for many years, been a great place to take a ship that is in need of repairs and maintenance.
Podcast: Play in new window

