The Ship Report

The lives of ships When you see a ship passing on the river, whether inbound or outbound, what you are seeing is a brief snapshot in the long life of that vessel, and the lives of the folks on board. Today we'll talk about the lives of ships.

Tides: how they're measured and why they happen Tides play such a big role in our waters both on the ocean and the river. It's good to revisit some things about them from time to time: like why they happen, how they are measured, and how they can complicate things for folks out on the river in vessels, but make things more fun for clammers.

Cool spring conditions remind us of cold water dangers A reminder that we live in the Pacific Northwest, a beautiful place with cold waters and strong currents year round. As the weather gets nice, let's keep in mind that our waters remain chilly and life threatening for the unprepared.

A look at how ships load and balance cargo, and why it's so important Cargo is loaded onto ships very deliberately and with a lot of calculation and forethought. Part of the reason is to anticipate how that cargo must be unloaded and in what order, at the dock. But even more important, imbalanced cargo can lead to tragedy and loss at sea, and even right at the dock.

Polar Star returns from Antarctica I always like talking about this ship, because of her unique job and the role she plays in keeping people safe in a challenging part of the world. The USCG icebreaker Polar Star is a ship specially designed to handle difficult conditions that would sink most vessels. She's an older ship, but well maintained, and she just returned from a special annual mission...

Weather and some ship talk Today we talk about the weather - always a fascinating topic in our coastal region. And some interesting details about today's arriving ships.

Norwegian Jade in town, and a look at tides and ships A few things today: a closer look at our cruise ship du jour in Astoria, a look at ships coming and going, and a reminder of how ships at anchor let us know what the tide is doing.

Second cruise ship of the season comes to Astoria Thursday The second cruise ship of the season comes to Astoria on Thursday, and it's a good opportunity to talk more about these big ships, carrying many passengers, and what Astoria will see here as we move through the season. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Abxbay, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via...

Cold weather on the way We have an unusual spring snow storm on the way in the Cascades starting today, and colder than usual weather for the coast too. We'll talk about how conditions up north allowed this cold air to flow down to us, and create winter like conditions in the middle of April.

The shipyard at Swan Island So many times over the years I have said on this show that a ship is headed for "the shipyard at Swan Island." Today we'll take a closer look at that facility, who owns it, and why it has, for many years, been a great place to take a ship that is in need of repairs and maintenance.

First cruise ship for the Astoria season Today the Nieuw Amsterdam, a 1000-foot long cruise ship arriving from San Diego, is the first blue water cruise ship to call on Astoria in 2026. She'll head for British Columbia when she leaves here. Today we'll talk about Astoria's cruise ship visitors and why they tend to arrive in spring and fall. We'll also take a quick look at other shi...

Of ebb tides and west winds Today we'll talk about a common occurrence on the river that can affect sea state and make it more turbulent to be out there in a smaller vessel:  a west wind and an ebb tide. Understanding how to predict such conditions and plan for them is part of being a knowledgeable and safe mariner on the mighty Columbia River.

What does it mean to decommission a ship? Today we'll talk about the fate of decommissioned ships. We have one on the river now, the USNS Watkins, which arrived yesterday headed to Vancouver. She'll be decommissioned, or taken out of service, in July. We'll talk about what's next for her.

USNS Watkins, a Military Sealift Command ship, enters the river Monday Note: I'm publishing this podcast a day early because this ship will be arriving in the river around 8:30am Monday, and that's before the show airs on KMUN. This ship is a US Military Sealift Command ship, designed to be a vehicle carrier, a type of ship referred to a as RO/RO - Roll on, Roll off. She can carry tanks an...

Mariners keep working even in bad weather Yesterday we had some squalls blow through our area, bringing with them heavy rain, wind and fog. While we on land were turning our wipers on high or clutching our coats a little tighter, or just staying in, mariners were working as usual - just another day at the "office."

Who's on the river today, a bit about arriving weather, and scrap metal on the Columbia and where it goes Today we'll look at a variety of things: weather, ship traffic and cargo - specifically scrap metal which travels by ship and barge on the river.

Where exactly is the Columbia River Bar? Most locals, if asked this question, could tell you that the Columbia River Bar is where the river meets the ocean. But if you look into the particulars, where the bar is exactly depends on who's describing it. The Columbia bar is unique among river bars. So among maritime professionals the exact parameters can vary. We'll talk about it today.

What does it mean when the weather is "blowing a gale"? A look at the Beaufort Wind Scale Today in honor of our marine weather forecast, which suggests strongly that we could have gale force winds on the way, let's take another look at one of my favorites: the Beaufort Wind Scale.

Marine weather forecasts, explained (a little) I got a listener question about marine weather forecasts and why they specify the number of miles offshore the forecast covers. We'll talk about that today.

History and Hops - a Ship Report talk in Seaside on Thursday Tomorrow I'll be giving a talk at the Seaside Brewing Co. at 851 Broadway in Seaside at 6 pm. I'll be talking about a 10-day Pacific Northwest voyage at sea that I took in 2010 on a gypsum carrier sailing out of Rainier on the Columbia, up to Puget Sound and south to San Francisco. It was a pretty lifechanging event. I hope you c...

As the days grow longer - a look at the equinox and what it means Last Friday was the spring equinox, and it's evident that days are indeed getting longer. Today we'll take a look at how that all works and why the days get longer now and shorter later in the year. And when is the equinox anyway? Turns out it can change from year to year.

"Don't Let the Cat Out of the Bag" - a nautical talk about maritime lore and superstition Today's show is all about an upcoming talk at Astoria's Columbia River Maritime Museum, featuring career mariner Jason "Boats" Linnett. He'll be giving a talk at the museum on Friday, March 27th at 5:30 pm. The Museum is on Marine Drive on the waterfront at 17th Street. Tod...

The Mercy arrives Thursday morning Note: I’m posting this the night before (Wednesday evening even though it’s Thursday’s podcast), so that early birds can have the info about seeing the Mercy pass by on the river Thursday morning. Well, our much anticipated ship, the US Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy, will cross the Columbia River Bar into the river early Thursday morning around 6 am, passing Asto...

A look at the US Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy, arriving in the river Thursday morning A look at the USNS Mercy, the US Navy hospital ship that is arriving on the Columbia early Thursday morning. She's headed for the Swan Island shipyard in Portland for maintenance and repairs.

How ships make their way in the dark Today I'll answer a listener question about why ships seem to have so few lights on, on the exterior of the ship, when they are traveling at night. There are two main reasons: preserving night vision for the crew on the bridge so they can see what's out there, as much as possible, in diminished visibility. Also, ships have designated, legally mandated r...