The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

More weather on the way

Another storm is heading out way, with the potential to disrupt the flow of ship traffic on the river. This is pretty normal and happens in the winter time. Safety is essential for ships and the people on them.

Archive Podcasts:

Buoy 10 Fishery opens today on the lower Columbia

Aug 01, 2024

Today is the opening day of the Buoy 10 salmon fishery on the lower Columbia River near Astoria, Warrenton and Hammond. You’ll see lots of people in small boats fishing enthusiastically during this famous fishery period that happens every summer around this time.

The weather will be splendid and the fishing good. It’s important to remember that it’s the same old powerful and dangerous river out there, and we need to be prepared and knowledgeable in order to stay safe.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript080124.pdf

A review of ship fog signals

Jul 30, 2024

We’ve had some foggy conditions on the lower river this week, and so this is a good time to review ship fog horn protocols.

Those wonderful, sonorous ship horn sounds you hear in the fog are a lovely feature of coastal life. They’re also required by law and very important: they help ships communicate their locations when visibility is poor.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript073024.pdf

USNS Mercy hospital ship heads downriver today

Jul 29, 2024

We have an interesting vessel alert for shipwatchers today: the US Navy hopital ship the USNS Mercy heads downriver and out to sea this morning from the shipyard at Swan Island, after four months of repairs and maintenance.

Show transcript: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript072924.pdf

Part 8 – CG41332 – more on Coast Guard training

Jul 26, 2024

Note: I’m taking a break from the Ship Report for some vacation time. I’ll be back on the air and on Facebook, with updated ship schedules and marine weather reports on Monday, July 29. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this interview series about a tragic real life incident that happened here in our maritime neighborhood.

In this final segment of my lengthy interview with author John Kopp about his book, CG41332, we talk more about USCG training. The book, published in 2023, tells the story of a Coast Guard training tragedy that happened on the Columbia River Bar in 1977, and the changes that happened in the agency as result of the accident, which claimed three lives.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript072624.pdf

Part 7 – CG41332 – More on what changed after this tragedy

Jul 25, 2024

Note: I’m taking a break from the Ship Report for some vacation time. I’ll be back on the air and on Facebook, with updated ship schedules and marine weather reports on Monday, July 29. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this interview series about a tragic real life incident that happened here in our maritime neighborhood.

Today, in Part 7 of an extended interview series, we hear more from author John Kopp about this book CG41332, all about a Coast Guard accident that happened on the Columbia River Bar in 1977, and how it changed Coast Guard operations.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript072524.pdf

Part 6: what changed in the USCG after CG41332?

Jul 24, 2024

Note: I’m taking a break from the Ship Report for some vacation time. I’ll be back on the air and on Facebook, with updated ship schedules and marine weather reports on Monday, July 29. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this interview series about a tragic real life incident that happened here in our maritime neighborhood.

Today is Part 6 of my interview with John Kopp, author of the book CG41332, all about a Coast Guard tragedy on the Columbia River Bar in 1977. Three student trainees lost their lives in an overturned utility boat. Today we’ll learn about the extensive changes to Coast Guard protocol that occurred as a result of this tragic accident.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript072424.pdf

Part 5 – a close look at what happened aboard CG41332

Jul 23, 2024

Note: I’m taking a break from the Ship Report for some vacation time. I’ll be back on the air and on Facebook, with updated ship schedules and marine weather reports on Monday, July 29. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this interview series about a tragic real life incident that happened here in our maritime neighborhood.

Today we take a close look at the heart of this story: what happened aboard CG41332 in the harrowing time between when the boat flipped and when the boat was spotted by accident from the air by a fisheries agent, to the efforts to rescue the people on board.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript072324.pdf

CG41332, Part 4, how Kopp gathered the info he needed

Jul 22, 2024

Note: I’m taking a break from the Ship Report for some vacation time. I’ll be back on the air and on Facebook, with updated ship schedules and marine weather reports on Monday, July 29. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this interview series about a tragic real life incident that happened here in our maritime neighborhood.

We’re hearing an extended interview series, a chat with author John Kopp about his book, released in 2023, called CG41332, all about a little known Coast Guard tragedy in which three student crewmen died.

Kopp did extensive analysis of offical accounts about the incident. In the process of gathering information, he learned a great deal about the agency’s evolution, and the overwhemling job the Coast Guard is tasked with, under sometimes untenable circumstances.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript072224.pdf

CG41332: Part 3 – how the boat capsized

Jul 19, 2024

Note: I’m taking a break from the Ship Report for some vacation time. I’ll be back on the air and on Facebook, with updated ship schedules and marine weather reports on Monday, July 29. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this interview series about a tragic real life incident that happened here in our maritime neighborhood.

We’re into Day 3 of my interview with John Kopp, about his book CG41332m, about a tragedy on the Columbia River Bar during Coast Guard training in which three students lost their lives.

Today Kopp reads from his book, a passage about the moment just before the boat flipped in the breakers near Clatsop Spit.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript071924.pdf

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