The Ship Report

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.

Stabilizing cargo at sea We'll talk about today's ships, including one that has a cargo that must be securely lashed down. We'll talk about how ships keep cargo in place as they bounce around at sea.

Ships, grain and rain - why it can take longer to load wheat in the PNW Today we'll talk about the many grain ships that are currently on the river, and why it can take longer to load them than other kinds of ships, especially in the rainy PNW.

Who's on the river today? A look at today's ship traffic, including a Jones Act tanker carrying cargo between US domestic ports.

What causes wind to come from one direction or another? Today we'll look at the marine weather forecast and talk a little about wind. Why does the wind come from the west, or some other direction? And a look at ship traffic.

Who's on the river today? Today we'll take a look at ship traffic, and at how the Columbia remains what it has historically been when it comes to cargo: an big export region for raw materials.

A look at wind, waves and ships We'll look at ships on the river today, and also talk about the relationship between wind and waves.

A look at who's on the river, and ship paint and colors Today we'll take a look at ship traffic and talk a little about the fairly standard color scheme you see on the bulk carriers that anchor here.

How local shipping gets back to normal after bad weather on the bar We've had some interesting weather this week, including a thunderstorm warning that didn't quite materialize. But along with that storm came bad weather at sea, so difficult that the Columbia River Bar was on red status for the past day or so. That means ship traffic has been halted going in and out of the river temporaril...

Stormy weather continues offshore We got through our odd and threatening forecast yesterday, but while things have calmed down on land, they remain turbulent in the ocean offshore.

With spring break upon us, beware spring runoff in the river It's spring break and folks will be out enjoying the river. There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to the Columbia and related waterways, and that includes spring runoff and all it brings: cold water, fast currents and dangerous debris in the river.

A look at today's ship schedule We'll take a look at who's coming and going on the river today, and at some of the patterns we see in ships that come here often.