The Ship Report

The 50th anniversary of the wreck of the famous Great Lakes ore carrier, the Edmund Fitzgerald Today marks 50 years since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 11975 in Lake Superior. The Mighty Fitz, as she was called, was caught in the midst of a fierce storm with hurricane force winds. The ship was 17 miles from port when she was lost. All 29 members of her crew...

More weather, ships arriving, and a look at a common cargo: toluene We'll take a look at a tanker coming into Kalama, whose cargo is a liquid called toluene. We'll talk about what it is and what it's used for. Turns out we all probably have some toluene in our lives.

King Tides and weather are here King Tides are happening today, so expect high tides around midday and an atmospheric river event that will amplify hazards on beaches and in flood prone areas. Be careful out there.

King Tides FAQ We've got King Tides happening starting tomorrow through Friday this week, and you've probably heard about it if you live in our coastal region. But what does that mean really? Today we'll talk about the nuts and bolts of King Tides - a sort of "King Tides FAQ."

King Tides happening this week, plus an atmospheric river, could bring beach and flooding hazards We've got King Tides arriving later this week, around the same time as the arrival of an atmospheric river weather system. Higher than normal tides and weather effects  could mean increased beach hazards, and some inland flooding. We'll keep an eye on it.

Big atmospheric river in store next week I'm afraid it 's more weather - we'll take a look at a forecast from UW meteorologist Cliff Mass that bears watching, predicting a big atmospheric river headed our way next week.

A look at our evolving weather, and good thoughts for those in the path of Hurricane Melissa We're looking at our evolving weather, and ships traveling on the river, with a "there but for the grace of God go I" moment of humility and solidarity for those in the path of Hurricane Melissa - which is battering Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba with sustained winds of 185 mph.

Who's on the river, and what's next for the weather? Today, a look at who's traveling on the river, including tugboats and a Military Sealift Command vessel. And a look at the next round of weather headed our way.

Accurate sources for weather (marine and land-based), road and emergency info With so much misinformation flying around on social media, and more bad weather on the way this week. I thought it would be helpful to share some trusted resources you can use to keep yourself up to date with accurate weather, road and emergency info.

Stormy weather is upon us - get ready for wind and rain, and possible power outages The stormy weather we've been promised all week is arriving today - be ready for gusty winds and heavy rain. We may see interruptions in ship traffic today and through the weekend. Expect power outages.

The coastal jet is here again - a disconcerting weather quirk of our maritime environment Ship captains don't like the coastal jet much. It's a quirky local weather phenomenon that can cause the weather to get worse the closer approaching ships get to the Columbia River Bar. Today we'll hear from Capt. Thron Riggs, who spent many years as a Columbia River Bar pilot, explaining what a c...

The USS Plainview, a relic of lower Columbia history, beached in the shallows of Hungry Harbor Today we take a look at the USS Plainview, a once-innovative, prototype hydrofoil ship design that was decommissioned by the Navy in the 1960s. She ended up sidelined by her civilian owner after plans to make her into a seafood processing vessel didn't pan out. She remains, partially dismantled, on t...

We've got some weather comin' in A look at this week's weather, which seems poised to take things up a notch in terms of stormy conditions. We've got an atmospheric river event coming out way. We'll see how it shakes out.

A look at Alaska's recent coastal weather disaster Last weekend a typhoon his western Alaska north of the Aleutians, with devastating consequences for coastal communities there. A reminder to all of us who live on the edge of the world, that most of our weather comes to us from the ocean.

A look at the ship schedule, the weather and the origin of the term "ides" on this, the Ides of October In the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of March marked the 15th of that month, and a fateful day in history for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare's play, named for him, the story recounts a historical fact: that Caesar was assassinated on March 15 (the Ides of March) in...

Interesting ships on the river Tuesday While all ships are inherently interesting, we have a few unusual ones passing by on Tuesday. One will visit the Port of Astoria. We'll see a new Military Sealift Command replenishment oiler headed to the Portland shipyard, a containership (we don't see them as often as we used to) headed to the Port of Portland, and a blue water cruise ship stopping...

A look at transit times - how long takes to get from one place to another by ship Today we'll look at transit times, how long it takes a ship to go from one place to another at sea, and here on the river.

The pilot boat Peacock, now a museum exhibit, was a real game changer for Columbia River commerce This week marks 15 years since the pilot boat Peacock was lifted out of the Columbia River and placed on land, on the campus of the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, where she welcomes people traveling past the museum on Marine Drive. She's now a retired icon of Columbia River shipping, b...

A look at who's on the river today We've got an abundant ship schedule today, so let's see who's on the river today, moving cargo or waiting their turn.

Listener question about marine pilots and how they board ships I got an interesting listener question, about the way that marine pilot's board a ship using a pilot ladder. The answer illustrates how dangerous the job is, and how much pilots must rely on their own expertise and judgement, moment to moment, to safely do their jobs.

A blue water cruise ship heads downriver after a stint in Portland Today we'll talk about an interesting and unusual sight that happened on Sunday on the river: a big bluewater cruise ship was heading downriver and out to sea from Portland. We'll talk about why she was all the way upriver in Portland, since such ships generally stop in Astoria and go no further upriver except perhaps to an...

A look at our eccentric regional weather Today we'll take a look at this week's storm, which brought stormy conditions some places around the region, but missed others.

Update on the weather Well, in typical Mother Nature fashion, she's doing what she likes, and our predicted storm is a bit late. But arrive it will, and will likely make things messy for vessels out in it, and delay departures for ships that are in port here. We'll talk today about what to expect, with the usual caveat, "subject to change."

Weather comin' in, as we bid farewell to September We have some of our usual, messy fall weather coming in today, and I thought it would be a good time to review some of the weather jargon we start to see in our forecasts at this time of year, and what those words and numbers mean. We'll talk about ships on the bar in bad weather, and also what's happening with other river bars along o...

Big changes to the Ship Report this week Big changes happening as of this week, with regard to the show. Beginning this week, the Ship Report will no longer air on KMUN on Fridays, but will air Monday-Thursday instead, and as a podcast on my website at shipreport.net. KMUN will air the Ship Report twice a day on the radio, at 8:49 am and again at 5:49 pm, Monday through Thursday. The changes come...