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Fleet Week Thursday: Tours begin on Rose Festival Ships in Portland

One final wrap up today on the Rose Festival Fleet which begins tours today in Portland. Ships are located on the seawall in Tom McCall Park, 10-4. Get there early because tours end promptly at 4 and if you are waiting on land at 4 you may not get in.  And I also wanted to share again that I learned some updated information yesterday from the Rose Festival Website that indicates that you need Real ID to board for a tour. Here’s what it says on the Fleet Week page: “When arriving for public...

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Shipbreaking: a necessary and problematic industry

Today, in answer to a listener question, a look at a troubling but necessary industry: shipbreaking.

Where do old ships go to die? The answer mostly is to a shipbreaking yard somewhere in South Asia, to countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

We’ll talk about the hazards of shipbreaking as is it conducted in most cases. We’ll also look at places where environmentally responsible shpibreaking is happening.

Interesting vessels on the river this week

Today we’ll take a closer look at two unusual vessels on the river this week: the USNS Eagleview, which is currently docked at the Port of Astoria. And the Pan Viva, a ship that had a close call in Alaska recently in bad weather. A lot of difficult, careful work by the Coast Guard and and coorinated resources saved this ship from a disaster.

Do all big vessels take a pilot on board?

Today, a listener question about marine pilots: which ships take them and which don’t?

In the majority of cases, it’s a matter of the law. And we certainly see a lot of local domestic vessels, like tugs and excursion vessels, and US-flagged river cruise ships, that don’t take pilots. Their captains know the river well.

But almost all large visiting vessels operating in land waterways, worldwide, use the services of marine pilots, for safety reasons.

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