The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

Warm weather coming, but cold water remains

Today we'll take a look at our glorious weather forecast with a caveat: the water in the ocean and our rivers is about as cold as cold tap water. Try it. Too cold for swimming really, but more to the point: just right for hypothermia and cold water shock.

Archive Podcasts:

Port of Portland announces end of containership service to Terminal 6

Apr 16, 2024

The big maritime news locally this week is the announcement by the Port of Portland that they will end container ship service to the Port’s Terminal 6 as of October 1. The decision will mean the Columbia River will no longer have container service, since Portland is the only port with the infrastructure and equipment to handle containers. Carships and bulk carriers will continue to call on the Port.

Portland has gained and lost container service over the past two decades. The most recent round of container service began during the pandemic, when the Port of Portland served as a overflow port for overcrowded ports on the West Coast. The service has continued with several container ships per week transiting the river.

According to this week’s news reports, that service will cease at the end of September. The hope is that this will only be temporary.

Photo: Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 container cranes. Credit: M.O. Stevens, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The expensive law of “general average” and how it applies to cargo ship disasters

Apr 15, 2024

There’s an ancient tenet of maritime law that is cropping up in reports about the catastrophe in Baltimore harbor with the containership Dali. It’s called “general average,” and it has to do with who pays when a ship runs into expensive trouble during a voyage.

This law can force those customers whose cargo is on the ship to help pay for the cost of the disaster. Mostly it ends up being a complex negotiation between many insurance companies, but it could be an expensive caveat for small businesses who may not have insured their cargo sufficiently.

Unusual ships on the river today, and Astoria’s paddlewheeler may be back

Apr 04, 2024

A look at our ship schedule, which includes a military cargo ship and a missile tracking defense vessel. And a bit of good news about the American Empress, the paddlewheel cruise ship that used to be at Astoria’s 17th St. dock until her company folded. Another company has bought her and she may be back.

Car manufacturing: a global phenomenon

Apr 03, 2024

Answering a listener question about a car carrier with Toyotas headed for the Port of Portland. Today we’ll talk about the many countries in which familiar autos brands are manufactured, including vehicles from American companies.

These days our cars, and the parts that comprise them, are made around the world. It’s part of our global economy.

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