The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

More weather on the way

Another storm is heading out way, with the potential to disrupt the flow of ship traffic on the river. This is pretty normal and happens in the winter time. Safety is essential for ships and the people on them.

Archive Podcasts:

Another oiler in town, and yes, the water is cold

May 17, 2024

Today we’ll look at today’s schedule, which includes another military replenishment oiler like the one we saw yesterday (a ship that can refuel other ships at sea).

And also a footnote about the beach this week… where I personally tried wading briefly in the ocean to see how cold it really is. The answer: it’s really COLD, yes, capital letters cold. Cold enough to make your feet ache.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript051724.pdf

The plumb bow

May 16, 2024

Today, a brief dive into vessel design and some of the factors that can affect why boats and ships look the way they do. Today we’ll look at the plumb bow feature you may see on ships and on some recreational boats and why a designer might choose to design a vessel this way.

Show  transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript051624.pdf

Normalizing water safety: an idea whose time has come

May 15, 2024

We do a lot to warn people about water safety, but perhaps not enough to change their minds about how they see it, as a concept in their lives.

For everyone’s benefit: victims, emergency first responders and Good Samaritans, it’s time to make water safety “cool.”

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript051524.pdf

Today’s maritime term: lightering

May 14, 2024

Today we’ll take another look at a specialized maritime term, one that may seem odd to folks not involved in the maritime industry. This word, llightering, has to do with the process of moving cargo, and sometimes fuel, usually from a larger vessel to a smaller one, for the purposes of making the other vessel lighter, and more able to maneuver, especially when it comes to water depth at the dock.

Show transcript here; http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript051424.pdf

The origin and meaning of a common maritime industry term: bunkering

May 13, 2024

Folks familiar with the maritime industry use this word a lot: “bunker” or “bunkering” or even “bunkers.”

It’s not a word whose meaning you can easily figure out just by hearing it, but it refers to the fuel ships use and the process of filling up a ship’s tanks so she has fuel to travel at sea.

Today we’ll talk about bunker and bunkering, and exactly what those terms mean. And how this important maritime function came to be named in such an apparently nonintuitive way.

Show transcript available here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript051324.pdf

Beautiful weather is here, and with it cold water dangers

May 09, 2024

Every spring, we have these wonderful days (like today into the weekend) where the weather just blossoms into full summer mode – and we are understandably giddy with joy.

However, while you’re out there enjoying the beach and the riverside (as well you should!), keep in mind that winter conditions still exist when it comes to water and water dangers – it’s still dangerously cold in both our rivers and the ocean.

So even though the air is intoxicatingly warm, we’re still in the Pacfic Northwest. And that means cold water, strong tidal currents, and rip currents in the ocean, year round.

Show transcript avaialble here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript050924.pdf

Nightime running lights on ships

May 08, 2024

Today, a look back in the Ship Report archives at an interview I did in the early 2000s, with a local maritime professional: Captain Robert Johnson, a now retired Columbia River Bar Pilot who was at the time working in the field in the waters off  Astoria, Warrenton and Hammond. In this insider’s look at ship running lights, he’ll tell us what we are likely to see in a ship passing by at night.

Lights on ships are designed with great purpose: they are meant to allow other vessels to see a ship at night and determine how it is traveling, to avoid collision. Lights also illuminate working areas of the ship were crew and pilots need to be.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript050824.pdf

How does the “gas pedal” work on a ship?

May 06, 2024

Today, an interesting listener question about how propulsion decisions are communicated between the bridge of a ship and the engine room. In a car, we’d call this exchange the “gas pedal.” But it works differently on ships.

Show transcript avaialble here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/Transcript050624.pdf

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