The Ship Report

Who's on the river today? Today we'll look at ships coming and going on the river and what's on board.

Beached boat on the Long Beach Peninsula shows hazards of coastal waters Today we'll take a look at the ongoing story of a cabin cruiser that washed ashore on the beach on the Long Beach Peninsula. It's a story of a very lucky man and his dog, for sure - but what's next for them, as the boat sits aground on the sand? We'll talk about what his options are, and how marine salvage law...

A look at where cargo goes after it reaches port Today we'll take a look at some common arriving cargoes on the Columbia, and what happens to them after they are unloaded from the ship that brought them here.

More about general average liability for cargo owners - potentially daunting... Today I'll revisit a concept I talked about on Monday's show... General Average - an ancient maritime principle that governs how losses in a ship disaster are shared between stakeholders. I was talking about the containership Dali and what sort of liability cargo owners on that ship could face. Turns out quite...

Port of Woodland to add terminal on the Columbia Continuing our discussion about changes in ports and cargo service on the Columbia, today we'll talk about the decision by the Port of Woodland to buiild a marine terminal and being serving cargo ships for the first time. The port has a partnership with a cement company that will help make it happen. We'll talk about what an official port di...

Containers out of Astoria? Today we'll talk about a listener comment regarding the Port of Portland's decision to suspend container service this fall out of its Terminal 6 facilities. A person suggested that containers be shipped out of Astoria instead. We'll talk about why that is highly unlikely. Mostly, it's a matter of highly expensive infrastructure. But also, equipment costs...

The Port of Portland announced end to container ship service at Terminal 6 The big maritime news locally this week is the announcement by the Port of Portland that they will end container ship service to the Port's Terminal 6 as of October 1. The decision will mean the Columbia River will no longer have container service, since Portland is the only port with the infrastructure and equipment to...

The pricey maritime law of "general average" There's an ancient tenet of maritime law that is cropping up in reports about the catastrophe in Baltimore harbor with the containership Dali. It's called "general average," and it has to do with who pays when a ship runs into expensive trouble during a voyage. This law can force those customers whose cargo is on the ship to...

USCG rescue swimmer interview: epilogue The final episode in our series on the work of USCG rescue swimmers.

Rescue swimmer interview continues This week we're hearing excerpts from an interview I did with a USCG rescue swimmer based at Air Station Astoria.

Rescue Swimmer Interview, continued More from a fascinating interview with a Coast Guard rescue swimmer from Air Station Astoria.

More about USCG rescue swimmers Another episode about rescue swimmers and their demanding work.

USCG Rescue Swimmers A look back in the Ship Report archives at an interview I did with a USCG swimmer, while I recover from a nasty cold.

A look at Baltmore's salvage efforts, and big ships on our river Today an update on how things are going in Baltimore, and a bit about a huge container ship that is on our river right now: the containership MSC Flavia, which by some measures is even larger than the containerhip Dali in Baltimore harbor.

Unusual ships on the river today, and possibly the return of a familiar ship to Astoria. A look at our ship schedule, which includes a military cargo ship and a missile tracking defense vessel. And a bit of good news about the American Empress, the paddlewheel cruise ship that used to be at Astoria's 17th St. dock until her company folded. Another company has bought her and she may be back.

Car manufacturing: a global phenomenon Answering a listener question about a car carrier with Toyotas headed for the Port of Portland. Today we'll talk about the many countries in which familiar autos brands are manufactured, including vehicles from American companies. These days our cars, and the parts that comprise them, are made around the world. It's part of our global economy.

Cargo on the Columbia Today we'll take a look at our ships on the river from a slightly different perspective: a closer look at what's on board and what it's used for.

The daily rhythm of life on the river goes on Today, it's another beautiful day on the river, and we have another opportunity to see the rhythm of daily life passing by: our 90 percent of everything on ships, a wonderful part of life on our river. It's something we love, and that hasn't changed - despite tragic national events.

Offshore weather brings wind and rain A pretty big storm is missing us here on land, while creating difficult conditions for ships at sea.

Baltimore's bridge disaster The horrific scene in Baltimore harbor strikes fear into communities like ours, where we have a big river and big bridges with ships passing under them. Today we'll talk about what's known so far about the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore harbor after it was hit by a huge containership. We'll also talk about whether that could happen...

Waves and storms We're getting some stormy weather this week again, and that's a good time to talk about why and how storms cause waves to get higher and more dangerous, and generally cause havoc at sea.

Farewell, Fisher Poet Clem Starck Today we honor Oregon poet Clemens Starck, an award winning poet and author who was a regular performer at the annual Fisher Poet's Gathering in Astoria. Clem passed away last week at the age of 86, but his evocative work lives on. Today we'll hear him reading of a poem he wrote from his days as a merchant mariner, and learn a little about his life

The USNS Mercy heads to Portland The US Navy hospital ship the USNS Mercy is slated to enter the Columbia River Friday morning. If she arrives according to the schedule, she could pass Astoria around 7:30am Friday.  She's headed to the shipyard in Portland at Swan Island. We'll talk about this iconic ship and her important role in the US military and the world.

Beautiful. mysterious river fog The other morning in Astoria, people were treated to a lovely natural event: the river and surrounding areas were shrouded in thick, velvety fog. Ships sounded their fog horns while they made their way through it, while the hillside above the river enjoyed bright sunshine and blue skies. Today we'll talk about river fog and what causes it.

But wait, there's more! About dredging... There's so much to talk about when it comes to dredging the river... so here's more nuts and bolts of dredging as a follow up to Monday's program. We'll talk about how deep the channels are, other channels on the Columbia besides the main ship channel, and why the Columbia will never be able to accommodate some ships that are just too b...