The Ship Report is All Things Maritime!

Ship Report podcasts take you to a special corner of the world: the Mighty Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. Nautical lore, news and info, mariner interviews, daily international ship traffic, and the inside scoop on our formidable marine weather. Join maritime journalist Joanne Rideout on the Ship Report, as we explore the fascinating nautical world, on the Upper Left Edge of Oregon and beyond.  The Ship Report is proud to celebrate 20 years on the air!

Loss of Portland container service could hit small businesses hard

Today we take a look at a a business story about the fallout in a port on the East Coast that recently lost container service in a disaster. In Baltimore, we saw a container ship destroy a bridge, and huge and awful consequences for that city and its people. As that...
More

A look at today’s ships on the river

Today we'll take a close look at ships on the river and their cargoes.
More

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...
More

A look at cargo after it leaves the ship in 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

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...
More

Columbia River Ship Traffic

GO
Approximate Vessel Travel Times
  • Portland/Vancouver -Astoria: 6-8 hours
  • Kalama -Astoria: 5 hours
  • Longview -Astoria: 3.5 hours
  • Columbia River Bar – Astoria: 1.5 hours
Times vary according to tidal conditions, current, weather, and individual vessel horsepower.
Water Speed & Currents

Curated Links

Arts
Local
Maritime
NOAA
Photos
Tsunami
Video
Tides

When’s High Tide where you are?  Find Tidal info at www.saltwatertides.com

Tide times are often listed in 24 hour time.  For times after noon, subtract 1200 from the time to get regular clock time. Ex: 1300 hrs – 1200 = 1:00 pm)

MLLW:  Also, tides are referenced to Mean Lower Low Water, a reference point for depth on many nautical charts. MLLW is the average of the lower of the two low tides in a day, over a 19-year cycle. Minus tides are lower than MLLW.

Adjustments: If you’re right on the coast, subtract an hour from these times. Upriver, highs and lows happen later. For instance, in Knappa, add an hour. In Clatskanie, add 2 hours and 15 minutes.

The Ship Report
Read the Ship Report Blog
Ship Report Podcasts

Loss of Portland container service could hit small businesses hard

Today we take a look at a a business story about the fallout in a port on the East Coast that recently lost container service in a disaster. In Baltimore, we saw a container ship destroy a bridge, and huge and awful consequences for that city and its people. As that...
Listen

A look at today’s ships on the river

Today we'll take a close look at ships on the river and their cargoes.
Listen

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...
Listen

A look at cargo after it leaves the ship in 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.
Listen

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...
Listen

The Ship Report, the show about All Things Maritime, features maritime news and information, local and international, based in the Pacific Northwest in Astoria, Oregon. shipreport.net. Podcasts available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts

The Ship Report is also broadcast  Weekdays at 8:49 am on  KMUN Radio Astoria, Oregon

Columbia River Bar
Pacific NW Coast Bar Closure Info from NOAA.

Also on Facebook and Twitter (US Coast Guard).

“Pilot transfer” is when a pilot disembarks or boards a ship. Ships generally must by law have a river or bar pilot on board when they are on the Columbia or Willamette Rivers. The bar and river pilots have separate pilotage grounds defined by the Oregon Legislature.

Ship's Store

FEATURED:

The Columbia River
Ship Report

Quick Guide
to Shipwatching

Shop Now
Follow The Ship Report
Meet Joanne Rideout
Producer Joanne Rideout is a journalist and photographer who created The Ship Report in 2003. Since then Joanne and has been interviewing, writing and photographing the maritime world and its interesting people as much as she possibly can.
Ship Horn Signals

Commonly Heard off Astoria

One prolonged blast every two minutes or less: vessel operating in fog.

Five consecutive horn blasts: warning signal that means literally “I do not know your intention.” This generally means another vessel is in the way of a ship in the channel, and is being asked to move before they collide.

Three short blasts: Vessel going in reverse

One long blast followed by three short: signal for the change of pilots.