The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

The HOS Black Watch: high tech offshore supply vessel on the river today

Today we have an vessel on the river, one of a type that we don't see very often. She's the HOS Black Watch, one of a kind of vessel that's used in special projects worldwide. It's called an Offshore Supply Vessel - a jack of all trades craft that can assist with tricky offshore projects assisting oil rigs and other vessels with things they can't do alone. This compact ship has all the high tech bells and whistles, and a crew of experts on board.

Archive Podcasts:

What a ship accident in Ecuador tells us about the Columbia River

Oct 18, 2022

A 2021 accident in Ecuador that left a tall ship temporarily pinned against a bridge and a tug capsized as it tried to help, shows us the dangers of severe river current in an emergency. And how it could happen here.

Link to video of Ecuador ship accident: https://youtu.be/05bH8_8XfNA

Image: the Brazilian Navy training ship, the Cisno Bronco. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

A listener question about ship fog signals

Oct 17, 2022

A listener sent in a really interesting question about ship fog signals off the Astoria waterfront. A good opportunity to talk about how ships communicate, why such signal are needed, whether they’re in danger of becoming obsolete in this moden age, and what the options are for people who don’t like the noise of foghorns on the waterfront.

What does a ship captain do?

Oct 13, 2022

Today we’ll take a look at the job duties of a cruise ship captain, based on an actual job opening for a ship that will likely be on the Columbia River. Turns out captains are part manager, part first responder and part mentor. And that doesn’t even begin to describe the duties of handling the ship. It’s a big job.

The Golden Globe solo round-the-world race: a test that demands strength, resilence and solitude

Oct 10, 2022

Today we take a look at an unusual sailboat race: the Golden Globe 2022, happening right now. Race rules say participants may only use low tech means to sail their boats, navigate and communicate, similar to what was available in 1968, when the first Golden Globe was held.

They’ll be at sea for about 250 days and cover 30,000 miles – each sailing alone through some of the toughest waters in the world, in small boats, 32-36 feet long.

A closer look at a passing container ship

Oct 06, 2022

A container ship headed out of the river past Astoria yesterday, prompting some questions from listeners about what they were seeing. This ship is on her way now to Los Angeles, part of a typical run for container ships visiting the West Coast. We’ll talk today about container ships on the Columbia.

Note: the photo here is a picture of the MSC Vita, the ship that passed by Astoria Wednesday morning. This photo appears here courtesy of the website vesselfinder.com. Many thanks to photographer Miachael Schindler, who took this picture.

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