The Ship Report

Big ship schedule today - let's talk about it! We have a sizeable ship schedule today and some interesting vessels arriving from far flung places.

Anchorage goings on With so much photography happening of our local ships here in Astoria, people are noticing marine traffic more than ever before. It's a good time to take another look at "what's going on in the anchorage." As it turns out, a lot is happening out there, all of it fascinating.

Who's on the river today? A look at today's ship schedule, highlighting some particularly interesting ships on the river today. And, a look at our marine weather.

Northern lights, ship schedule, weather and a bit about ship names Today we'll look at the unusual appearance of aurora borealis in our region, the extended weather forecast (when will we return to our typical rainy pattern?), a look at the schedule and a bit about ship names.

A look at ships and cargo Today let's take a look at who's on the river, but also review a bit of general info about the types of ships that come here, where they come from, and some significant differences between them.

Salt vs fresh water: how does water salinity affect sea conditions? Today we'll walk about an interesting but obscure topic for most land dwellers: how stormy sea conditions can vary between large bodies of fresh and salt water, like the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean. It's not something we usually think about on land, but mariners know it well. And a bit more about what local condition...

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.

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.

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 tr...

The USCGC Healy, US Coast Guard icebreaker and the agency's largest vessel, comes to the Columbia Today we'll see the USCGC Healy, a Coast Guard icebreaker and the agency'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 na...

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 sh...

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.

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 favorit...

New Year's Eve Ship Horns in Astoria Hear Astoria's visiting ships ring in 2026 with the sonorous sounds of their horns at midnight on New Year's Eve on the Columbia River.

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.

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 w...

A new storm looms for the coast, and - Santa is saved by the US Coast Guard Well, weather watchers are tracking an approaching storm that might (or might not) bring damaging winds to our area. We'll see how that shakes out. And today we'll hear a Ship Report holiday tradition: "Coastal Christmas," a retelling of the story of The Night Before Christmas, coastal- style. It's a...

'T is the season, for Dungeness crab, that is Today we'll talk about the opening at the end of this month of the 2025-26 Dungeness crab fishery in our local area. And hear an excerpt from a 2016 interview I did with a commercial crabber. His name is John Corbin, and he'll tell us a bit about the process of catching and harvesting Dungeness.

More weather as our next atmospheric river arrives today The fire hose of rain is aimed south of us in Clatsop County this time, but meteorologists predict we are looking at about and inch and half  in Astoria, and 3 inches or more Tillamook and points south. The big deal right now is a matter of time, rain and its long term effect on soils. It’s been raining for awhile now and we are seeing the e...

Today, a real look at how weather can affect ship traffic We've got some rowdy weather on the Columbia River Bar today and it may cause ships to be delayed until the weather's better. We'll take a look at how that sort of thing works and what you can expect.

Another round of atmospheric river conditions kicks in Tuesday We seem to be in an atmospheric river phase at the moment: we'll talk about what to expect today from a maritime perspective.

Another atmospheric river today - let's look at what's next We'll be looking at more atmospheric river activity this week. We'll take a look at what to expect. The short answer: with already saturated soils in our region, be prepared for power outages, landslides and downed trees. We'll also take a look at today's ship schedule.

A look at crazy rainfall totals from our atmospheric river, and what's next... Today we'll take a look at some really crazy rainfall totals from this week's storm, and a look at what's next as next week unfolds. The short answer: more rain.

A break in the weather, but experts say there's more to come in this rainy December We haven't seen the last of atmospheric river activity this month, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center. We'll take a look at the long range forecast for what could shape up to be a very wet rest of December, and January.

Winter Boater Safety Inspection Event Dec. 27th in Astoria If you have a trailerable recreational boat registered in Oregon, consider bringing your boat down to the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Winter Boater Safety Inspection Station event later this month. If you have the right gear, you can get a 2026 Oregon Boater Safety Inspection sticker. It's happening Saturday, December...