The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

The Pacific Tracker: a specialized ship with a long and winding past

Today we will see the Pacific Tracker travel up the Columbia to Portland. She's a military missile tracking ship that's berthed at Swan Island's shipyard. An interesting aspect of this ship is her past: she's 60 years old, and has had various uses and names - including as a bulk carrier and containership. A case in point about the lives of ships.

Archive Podcasts:

The Ever Forward is not going anywhere

Mar 22, 2022

The story of the very public grounding of another mega containership last week in Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast. This one, unlike the similarly-named Ever Given, which ran aground about a year ago in the Suez Canal, this ship is solidly aground along her entire keel. It will take some doing to get her free.

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Ukrainian sailors and their important role in the merchant fleet

Mar 21, 2022

Today we look at the important role Ukrainian officers and sailors play in world trade and shipping, and a look back at an unforgettable trip I took on a cargo ship, where my gracious host was the ship’s Ukrainian captain, who treated me as an honored guest.

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The risks sailors take

Mar 18, 2022

Today we’ll talk about a harrowing story of a sinking ship, and the risks mariners take every time they go to sea.

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Flags of convenience, and what they mean about where a ship is from

Mar 17, 2022

We see a lot of ships here with countries like Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands painted on their sterns. What does that mean? Today we’ll talk about flags of convenience, and why the concept of a home port for cargo ships may be outdated in this modern age.

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Scientists discover undersea sinkholes in Arctic as permafrost melts

Mar 16, 2022

Disturbing news from the Arctic – as scientists discover recently formed giant sinkholes in the ocean floor, which they believe have been caused by the melting of undersea permafrost.

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Marine pilot support staff help make it all happen

Mar 15, 2022

We talk a lot about marine pilots on the Ship Report. Alongside those accomplished professionals works a cadre of skilled support professionals – from boat operators to deckhands to helicopter pilots and winch operators, to dispatchers and office staff. These folks together make this amazing matitime work possible on the river every day.

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More on shiphandling: outbound ships and low tide

Mar 14, 2022

A look at another facet of the fine art of shiphandling: most of our ships here on the Columbia enter the river light and leave loaded.

That means they have to negotiate low tide somewhere along their journey to the sea, when they have less water under their keels than when they arrived. Pilots do a lot of careful planning to insure that ships are safe at all points along that outbound trip.

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Lithium ion batteries and ship fires

Mar 11, 2022

A look at the problematic lithium ion battery, which seems to be the culprit in an increasing number of fires on board car carriers.

Note: image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. The Sincerity Ace, sister ship to the Felicity Ace, which sank in the north Atlantic this month after a fire on board that experts believe was likely caused by lithium ion batteries.