The Ship Report

PNW Offshore Race 2025 On Thursday morning, 19 sailboats set out from Ilwaco, Wash., out to sea across the Columbia River Bar. At an appointed time, they crossed the starting line and began a four-day race northward, 193 miles to Victoria, BC. The annual PNW Offshore Race is underway.

Cruise ship in town today, and a look at who else is on the river Today, another repositioning cruise visits Astoria, as blue water cruise ships make their annual spring migration up the West Coast, to their northern summer vacation grounds in BC and Alaska. And a quick look at today, the Ides of May.

Farewell, Clint Carter Today we honor a local business owner, North Coast Blues musician, and well loved community member who was instrumental in organizing iconic music festivals on the Long Beach Peninsula. Farewell, Clint Carter. We miss you already. Clint passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. He was also a person whose voice was heard every year on the Ship Report around the h...

Two unusual vessels on the river today Today we'll see two unusual vessels on the river, the cable ship Global Sentinel and the Offshore Support Vessel HOS Black Watch. Neither one is a cargo ship. Instead, both are specialized work vessels that do specific tasks in the maritime industry.

An unusual cruise ship heads to Portland today Today we'll see the Pride of American cruise ship arrive from Hawaii and head past Astoria (not stopping there) and head upriver to the shipyard in Portland for maintenance. Arriving from Hawaii, she has no passengers on board. An unusual thing about her is that she's US flagged, because her cruise route takes her between the Hawaiian Islands,...

What determines transit time on the river? Lots of factors, that include current, tides and displacement Today we'll talk a little about a somewhat mindboggling topic: what happens when a ship goes by... it's connected to transit time, how long it takes a ship to get from one place to another. Massive ships move lots of water when they travel, and ships here are up against heavy current an...

With another big cruise ship in town, we look at what's next for Astoria this season We have yet another huge, blue-water cruise ship in town, those behemoths that come in from out in the ocean to dock in Astoria for the day. Today we'll take a look at what's ahead for the Port of Astoria's cruise ship season.

A look at who's on the river today A look at ship traffic, with some diversions into the "whats" and "whys" of particular ships traveling on the river today.

Listener question about anchored ships and what it says about sudden public interest in shipping I got a listener question from someone this weekend who asked me why there were ships anchored in the river off Astoria. It's a telling question, in this season of public anxiety about tariffs. We'll talk about why those ships are a normal part of life here, and how to learn more about what may...

Why so many cruise ships in Astoria all of a sudden? The answer is "repositioning cruises" Today we'll talk about marine weather and ship schedules, but also about why there were so many cruise ships in Astoria this week. The answer lies in a cruise industry protocol that happens around this time of year: repositioning cruises, to take ships from their winter grounds to their summer...

An unusual cruise ship adventure in the river today Lots of folks saw that big cruise ship sitting at anchor near Warrenton, instead of at the Port of Astoria where we all thought she should be. Turns out Mother Nature had other plans for her... there was a extra-low low tide this morning, and that meant that the ship had to wait in deeper water for the tide to rise, so there would be enough deep...

Where exactly is the Columbia River Bar? Today, a perennial question that comes up now and again: where actually is the Columbia River Bar? It opens the door to an interesting and complex answer about how the river works and influences all our lives here.

Who's on the river today, and a look at a particular cargo A look at daily ship traffic and a particular cargo that goes to Longview: industrial salt.

The Vigorous drydock in Portland's shipyard is an unusual maritime marvel Today, an answer to a listener question about the Vigorous dry dock at the Swan Island shipyard in Portland. It's an engineering marvel, and the largest floating drydock in North America. We'll take a closer look.

Who's on the river today? A bit about today's ships: berths, cargo, anchorages - among the reasons ships come here to the Columbia River.

A look at what we know about this year's Rose Festival Fleet, and also, a big cruise ship in Portland Two things today: first, a look at preliminary info about this year's Rose Festival Fleet of visiting military ships due here in June on the river. And, why was there a big ocean-going cruise ship heading upriver recently? We'll talk about all of that, and a look at marine weather and...

Self loading ships, a special breed Today we have an unusual cargo ship on the river: a self loader called the CSL Tecumseh. She's bringing gypsum to Rainier. What makes her unusual is she has all the gear she needs to load and unload her own cargo at the dock. We'll talk about why that's important.

A closer look at the Columbia's new ship anchorage, and a bit about anchoring on the river Earlier this month, I made a passing reference to there being a new ship anchorage on the Columbia River near Skamakowa. Today we'll look at that in more depth and talk about the complicated affair of anchoring a gigantic ship on a swift, powerful and capricious river.

Special Ship Report archive interview: all about car ships - Part 5 This week we'll be talking about those unusual looking ships we see on the river, the big blocky carships, called ROROs, for Roll-on/Roll-off. They bring us our cars, and they're complex vessels. We'll talk with a bar pilot about what they're like inside and what it takes to pilot one.

Special Ship Report archive interview: all about car ships - Part 4 This week we're talking about those unusual looking ships we see on the river, the big blocky carships, called ROROs, for Roll-on/Roll-off. They bring us our cars, and they're complex vessels. We'll talk with a bar pilot about what they're like inside and what it takes to pilot one.

Special Ship Report archive interview: all about car ships - Part 3 This week we're talking about those unusual looking ships we see on the river, the big blocky carships, called ROROs, for Roll-on/Roll-off. They bring us our cars and their complex vessels. We'll talk with a bar pilot about what they're like inside and what it takes to pilot one.

Special Ship Report archive interview: all about car ships - Part 2 This week we'll be talking about those unusual looking ships we see on the river, the big blocky carships, called ROROs, for Roll-on/Roll-off. They bring us our cars, and they're complex vessels. We'll talk with a bar pilot about what they're like inside and what it takes to pilot one.

Special Ship Report archive interview: all about car ships - Part 1 This week we'll be talking about those unusual looking ships we see on the river, the big blocky carships, called ROROs, for Roll-on/Roll-off. They bring us our cars, and they're complex vessels. We'll talk with a bar pilot about what they're like inside and what it takes to pilot one.

A new anchorage on the river, and some time away from the show Today we'll talk about a little bit of everything: a new anchorage on the river, today's ship traffic, and why I'll be taking a little time away from the show next week (you'll hear a great archive interview series) to tend to some medical needs.

Pilot Boats Today, a look at a new pilot boat folks are seeing on the waterfront in Astoria, and a bit about pilot boats in general: they're a specialized boat built for a particular, demanding task.