Going overboard in the river can be very dangerous

A story about a missing ship crewmember, who may have gone overboard in the river, highlights the risks of swimming in a river like the Columbia, with its powerful and dangerous currents.

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Young Oregon woman is now the 15th female USCG surfman

Today we’ll talk about the achievements of an intrepid young Oregon woman who has become one of only 15 women to become a USCG surfman. Surfmen are those skiilled folks on board the motor lifeboats that go out regularly on our local waters saving lives, often under challenging conditions.

Photo Credit: USCG DVIDS archives: The instructors, crew and students of the National Motor Lifeboat School, Ilwaco, Wash., practice at the entrance of the Columbia River Bar on Feb. 08, 2011. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jamie Thielen.

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The Ever Forward is free

After a month of intense salvage work in Chesapeake Bay, on Sunday crews were able to pull the aground containership Ever Forward off the mud and back into the ship channel. She’d been stuck there since March 13, when she missed a turn in the channel and plowed into 20 feet of mud.

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An indepth look at today’s ship schedule

We take a look at dry bulk carriers, cruise ships, ATBs, and a smattering of other vessels.

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Are ships getting too big?

It’s a question being raised in maritime news reports regarding the grounding of the Ever Forward in Chesapeake Bay, and last year the Ever Given in the Suez Canal – two mega containerships.

As ships get bigger, companies achieve greater economies of scale, but much larger ships pose particular challenges. We’ll take a look.

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Disaster averted – the best news that hardly anyone knew

This weekend, while media eyes were on the still-stuck containership Ever Forward in Chesapeake Bay, another potential disaster was unfolding on the West Coast, as a containership lost power and started drifting toward the beach. Lots of expertise involved, and it all ended well. The kind of good news you hardly hear about.

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Aid for Ukrainian seafarers and their families, and other stranded sailors

Efforts are underway to help Ukrainian seafarers and their families, and sailors on cargo ships trapped in Ukrainina waters because of the war. Some ships have been attacked by Russian forces.

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Cruise ships will house Ukrainian refugees in Italy and the Netherlands

A hopeful story today about how cruise ships are being temporarily repurposed to house Ukrainian refugees fleeing war with Russia.

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Sleep inertia, and how dangerous it can be for mariners

Today we talk about a condition we’ve all experienced: sleep inertia, that grogginess we all feel just after getting up. It’s a condition mariners deal with all the time. We’ll talk about sleep inertia today, and also fatigue, and how they can be factors in accidents while underway.

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Why you should avoid seal pups on the beach, even though they’re cute

Seal pups – the chances of seeing one on our ocean beaches right now are good. But it’s very important to leave them alone, even though they are cute. They don’t need our help, they’re just resting on the beach while their moms hunt. Leave them be, so their mothers can find them again and feed them, and they can lead normal lives. The less they see of humans, the better.

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