The Ship Report

Update on the Port of Portland's container service In a follow up to a story I shared with you earlier this year, here's the latest on the Port of Portland's container service, which faced closure in the face of financial losses. Now it looks like the Port will has a new agreement for operating the container service but still needs funding from the state of Oregon. We should know more  about that...

A deep sea rescue by a tanker ship with a specialized cargo: orange juice Today we'll talk about the just-in-time rescue of a sailor from a sailboat in flames, over 400 miles offshore, by a tanker - carrying a cargo of orange juice. So a bit about rescues at sea, and the specialized ships that carry our juice.

A look at who's on the river today, and the need for "rain pants" on the coast A look at today's ship traffic, and what to expect from the weather. Might want to get out the raingear later in the week.

A few things: a new ship in town, a tsunami warning (whew!), and Ilwaco's Crabpot Christmas Today, a medley of things to talk about: a new, locally built military vessel on the Columbia; that scary tsunami warning yesterday and what it reminds us to consider. And, Ilwaco's Crabpot Christmas Tree lighting is coming around again, happening this Saturday at the Port.

A moment of inattention has big consequences at sea Today we'll talk about an accident at sea where inattention and fatigue helped create a costly and catastrophic mistake, We'll talk about the cost of not paying attention on land and sea.

Remembering the Great Coastal Gale of 2007 Seventeen years ago this month, a series of storms later called the "Great Coastal Gale of 2007," hit PNW coastal communities hard, causing serious flooding inland too. Here on the coast, residents were reeling, left without power and cell service for days. We'll share some recollections today about that storm, and what it showed us about ourselves.

Tragedy in Alaska, as a fishing boat is lost The Alaska commercial fishing community is grieving today with the loss of the 50-foot fishing boat, the Wind Walker, out of Sitka, which capsized in stormy seas a little after midnight early Monday morning southwest of Juneau. Despite an extensive search with many Coast Guard and civilian resources, neither the boat nor her crew have not been found. In...

A look at who's on the river today An overveiw and a detailed look at ship traffic on the river today.

Holiday weekend weather outlook is one to savor As we head on into the holiday weekend, the forecast is looking amazingly dry and sunny for the next few days. Savor the moment, as rain will return next week, and our winter weather promises to be on target for a normal weather year: and that means, wind rain and snow. Winter in the Pacific Northwest.

Holidays at sea On this Thanksgiving Eve, let's take a moment to send our best wishes to all the sailors on board the many ships that ply our waters. They're far from home, missing loved ones, and the holidays make it all the more poignant. We'll talk about holidays on board merchant ships.

Upriver rescue Today we'll talk about a rescue upriver on the Columbia near Vancouver. A reminder that the river is a formidable force all along its length, and not just in the areas near the mouth where a lot of rescues, weather and other influences happen and get a lot of attention.

A look at today's ship schedule It's great to see ships moving on the river again. We'll have some relatively calm weather this week, so we'll take a look at who's on the river today.

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.

Waterspout off the Long Beach Peninsula shows the serious nature of local weather After our near-miss with a severe storm that walloped Washington to the north of us, a thunderstorm off the Long Beach Peninsula yesterday spawned a waterspout in the ocean off Long Beach. The waterborne tornado moved on up the coast to Tokeland and beyond. And we have more weather on the way. Don't be tempted to fee...

Our weather continues, with a look at how vessels handle it at sea That dangerous bomb cyclone storm is moving on to the north of us, leaving us with big seas for the next day or so. It was a close call... a storm packing hurricane force winds that somehow missed a direct hit on Oregon and Washington.

Bomb cyclone with deep low pressure shapes our coastal weather this week An intense low pressure storm called a bomb cyclone is churning out in the ocean a couple hundred miles offshore of the Oregon and Washington coast. While it's not predicted to make landfall here locally, it will send us some walloping winds, seas and rain. We'll talk about what to expect.

The ubiquitious, but seldom noticed, Quonset hut Today a look at a common but oft-overlooked maritime structure - the Quonset hut. First designed and built for the US Navy in 1941, they were styled after a WWI version called the Nissen hut. Once used in military installations during WWII, the Navy sold them surplus to the public after the war, and the rest, as they say, is history. And we'll hear...

Who's coming and going on the river today? A look at today's complement of cargo vessels on the river.

As weather improves, a backlog of ships getting back to work Whenever the Columbia River Bar at the mouth of the river temporarily becomes too dangerous to cross because of bad weather, the result a day or so later is a backlog of ships that have been waiting to leave or to arrive. That creates a steady stream of vessels, 24/7, until everything is back to normal.

As rough weather keeps the bar on Red status, we'll talk about how weather matters here Today the bar is on Red status because of the weather, meaning few if any ships will cross the bar today at the river's entrance. We'll talk about how weather matters here, and why it can seem calm off Astoria and be crazy dangerous just 17 miles to the west.

Inclement weather and King Tides add up to increased beach risks and flooding Today we take a look at our seasonally rowdy weather forecast, which already has the Columbia River Bar on Red status this morning, meaning ship traffic is halted across the river entrance until conditions improve.  Add that to King Tides we'll see starting on Friday, and it's a recipe for some serious beach hazards you...

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Every year around this time, I do a show about an enduring maritime tragedy: the sinking of the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. The incident, where the ship was lost in a storm and all hands perished, is emblematic of the risks all mariners take when they go to sea, and of the grief endured by their loved ones on land - waiting fo...

The invention of the shipping container The presence of a large containership, outbound on the river today, offers a good opportunity to talk about the invention of a device that revolutionized the shipping industry: the now ubiquitous shipping container. This commonly seen metal cargo box, which made its debut on a ship 68 years ago, soon permanently changed how cargo was shipped worldwide.

An unexpected change of sea route means less stress for some sailors Today we take another look at the lives of sailors at sea, and talk about how some ships that formerly transited the Suez Canal are now taking a longer route around the southern tip of Africa, to avoid violent vessel attacks in the Red Sea. The result for diverted ships has been voyages that last about two weeks longer than befor...

Who's on the ships we see passing by? Today, a look at the lives of the people who live and work on the ships that travel the world and bring us all our "stuff." We'll look at the latest data from the Seafarers Happiness Index, which assesses how life is going at asea for sailors. and a look at what countries sailors are mostly like to hail from.