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Good weather coming our way, and a look at ships and cargo
We have what looks to be a week-long spell of sunshine or at least “not-raining” coming our way.
We’ll also take a look at ships and cargo, and how cargo determines the types of ships you see in a given region.
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A foggy time on the lower Columbia River
It’s been pretty foggy in parts of the lower Columbia region the past few days. Or not foggy at all, depending on where you are. It’s part of a a larger pattern this week statewide of dense foggy conditions.
We’ll talk about what might be causing our fog here and what ships do under such conditions.
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The USNS Grasp, a Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship, comes to Portland
We’re seeing unusual ships arriving in the river this week so far. Yesterday it was the USCGC Healy, the Coast Guard’s biggest ship, headed to the Swan Island shipyard.
Today it’s the USNS Grasp, a highly specialized rescue and salvage ship, whose job it is to save people and ships when they get in trouble on the water.
Image: the USNS Grasp, photo courtesy of US Navy photo gallery.
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The USCGC Healy, US Coast Guard icebreaker and the Guard’s largest vessel, comes to the Columbia
Today we’ll see the USCGC Healy, a Coast Guard icebreaker and the US military branch’s largest vessel, enters the river early this morning on her way to the Vigor shipyard in Portland for about 8 months of repairs and maintenance. She’s an unusual vessel with some interesting history behind her name.
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The Columbia River Bar is on Red status, so what happens now?
Yesterday the Columbia River Bar was on Red status, per the Columbia River Bar Pilots. It’s the most severe restriction on ship traffic they can impose, and it means most, if not all, ships will be restricted from coming in or out of the river till the weather improves.
We have a big potential ship schedule today, meaning lots of ships want to enter and leave the river. Today we’ll talk about the effect a temporary, weather-related closure like this has on vessels, and what they do while they wait.
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A look at how marine pilots decide which ships will cross the bar in challenging weather
We’ve got another round of inclement weather coming in, and it’s a good time to talk about how our marine pilots, who are in charge of assisting ships in and out of the river, decide when the weather is too difficult to allow ships to transit until things calm down. We’ll talk about that today.
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Who’s on the river and some weather comin’ in, during which it will rain until it stops
Now that the fleeting festivities of New Years have faded away, let’s turn our attention to the workhorse ships that continue to do their work despite holidays, weather and other distractions.
Also, we’ll look at the weather, which is worsening a bit again – and we’ll talk about my favorite KMUN inclement weather forecast ever.
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New Year’s Eve Ship Horns in Astoria
Hear Astoria’s visiting ships ring in the new year with the sonorous sounds of their horns at midnight on New Year’s Eve on the Columbia River.
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How many ships will be off Astoria on NY’s Eve? And, a look at the Dungness crab fishery
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and we’ll hopefully hear some ship horns off the Astoria waterfront. Today, we’ll also take a look at the Dungeness Crab Fishery, which kicked off in the local area this past weekend.
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End of the year stuff: New Year’s Eve ship horns, and – the Ship Report is now on Substack
I’m gearing up once more to record ship horns on the Astoria waterfront again this year, when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve – an annual tradition I happily seek out.
I’ll share the recording with you on January 5th, when the Ship Report returns for the New Year. We never know what it will like: how many ships will be there, how many will choose to participate. So it’s always a surprise. Let’s hope for good sounds and let’s send our good wishes to the mariners on those ships for a good year for them as well as for all of us.
Also, the Ship Report is now on Substack, an easy place for you to go to see all that I create, and other info I share – whether it be podcasts, marine weather, ship schedules and more. Look for The Ship Report on Substack and you’ll find my new page.
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