The Ship Report

Interesting backstory on a complex Christmas ship incident shows mariner expertise On Christmas Eve, some lower Columbia land dwellers saw a ship and two tugs slowly making its way upriver to Rainier, where it remains anchored. The ship experienced engine failure on its way downriver, and had to turn around and retrace its path. The complex backstory around this incident, which might have seemed t...

A look at today's ship schedule: who's on the river? We've got a calm weather outlook for the week, and ships coming and going. We'll see who's here and where they're from, and what kinds of cargoes they're handling.

New Year's Eve on the Astoria Waterfront 2024 It's that time of year again, when Astoria is usually quite fortunate to hear ship horns on the waterfront at midnight. It's different every year, depending on who's in the anchorage and who chooses to participate. Thanks to the kind ship captains who agreed to sound their horns for us this year. Enjoy these sounds of the New Year's night and our town,...

Dungeness Crabbing - Part 4 More about our local Dungeness crab fishery and what it takes to do this demanding profession.

Dungeness crabbing - Part 3 We continue our look at the local Dungeness crab fishery.

Dungeness crab fishing - Part 2 Today we continue our look at the local Dungeness crab fishery, from a 2016 interview I did with fishermen John Corbin and Scott McMullen.

Something special for Christmas Eve: A Coastal Christmas My annual Christmas Eve reading of A Coastal Christmas: a retelling of the story of The Night before Christmas, in which PNW fishermen and the US Coast Guard rescue Santa and save Christmas for everyone.

A look at the Dungeness crab industry This week and next I'll be taking some time off for the holidays. While I'm away I'll be sharing excerpts from an interview I did in 2016 with local fishermen John Corbin and Scott McMullen, all about the local Dungeness Crab fishing industry. At the time, Corbin was chair of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, and McMullen is chair of the Oregon Fishermen's...

More weather coming our way, and a look at next week's shows A  look at the next round of weather coming our way. And a preview of next week: an archive interview about the local Dungeness crab industry, while I take a much needed break for the holidays.

A look at weather data from Tuesday and Wednesday, and the "Sailors Empathy ToolKit" Today we'll look at data from Tuesday night's storm, which left much of our coastal area without power on Wednesday. We'll also take a look at a new set of small experiments I am compiling to help land dwellers understand what it's like to be a mariner on a vessel at sea. I call it the Sailors Empathy Toolkit. So...

A look at common heavy weather terms to describe intensity as more storms come our way The National Weather Service says we'll be looking at 20 foot seas and 60 mph winds offhore by the end of the week. Ships are already waiting out in the ocean. Another wintry week on the lower Columbia.

A look at who's on the river, amid worsening weather We have another round of winter weather coming in with high seas and winds, meanwhile ships that were stuck in port or out at sea over the weekend, during our previous storm, are hoping to move on before the next one hits.

The river at night Today, as we continue through the season of short days and lots of darkness, we'll talk about getting around on the river at night.

A look at bar restrictions up and down the coast as a new round of weather arrives Those of us who live on or near the Lower Columbia River tend to think of bar restrictions as things affecting the Columbia River Bar. But actually, there are river and bay bars up and down the coast and they all are dynamic and dangerous areas where inland waterways meet the ocean. Today we'll take a look at what's...

Gantry cranes: a look at some unusual equipment on an anchored bulk carrier A listener sent me a photo of a ship in the Astoria Anchorage that had some unusual looking equipment on deck. It's called a  gantry crane, and it allows the ship to handle containers using onboard equipment.

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.