The Ship Report

With spring break upon us, beware spring runoff in the river

It's spring break and folks will be out enjoying the river. There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to the Columbia and related waterways, and that includes spring runoff and all it brings: cold water, fast currents and dangerous debris in the river.

A look at today's ship schedule

We'll take a look at who's coming and going on the river today, and at some of the patterns we see in ships that come here often.

NTSB Report recommends local bridges be included in national safety inspections

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as part of its investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore a year ago, is recommending that 68 bridges nationwide be evaluated to determine their hardiness in case of a ship strike. The Baltimore bridge was hit by a 1000 foot long container ship and collapsed.

On the list are three local bridges: the Astoria Megler Bridge, the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Longview, and the St Johns Bridge in Portland.

The NTSB recommendations are purely precautionary and not based on existing safety concerns. The NTSB believes that had the Baltimore bridge been inspected as they are recommending now, that tragedy could have been avoided.

The NTSB has compiled a list of bridges nationwide in need of assessment, based on criteria such as age, clearance, and whether they have support piers in the water.

The first day of Spring is here

Today we'll talk about the vernal equinox, the first day of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Did you know that the sun rises exactly in the east today and sets precidely in the west? We'll talk about this and other interesting fact about the first day of spring.

Water depth, and the complexity of rivers

At high tide the river off Astoria seems like a wide uninterrupted expanse of river. At low tide, mudflats abound. Today we'll talk about the complexity of rivers and why they pose challenges for vessels.

A bit about hail - a startling weather phenomenon that's been happening lately

We've been seeing abrupt, short lived hail storms lately. So today we'll take a look at what causes hail and other related solid precipitation.

A really big wave offshore, and a look at the concept of significant wave height

We recently saw a 63-foot wave off the mouth of the river in the ocean, recorded by a data buoy offshore. While this is a big wave for us, it's also within the parameters of a set of wave parameters called "significant wave height."

A bit of weather coming in, and possible effects on the bar

We've got a bit of stormy weather coming in, and so a good time to answer a listener question about the Columbia River Bar, and how ship traffic is affected by weather.

USNS Matthew Perry arrives in the river this morning

Today we have a Military Sealift Command cargo ship headed to Portland to the shipyard at Swan Island for repairs and maintenance. We'll learn a little today about this interesting military vessel.

Lots of anchored ships today

Today we have an abundance of anchored ships on the river, so many that a couple are waiting offshore. We'll talk about how that can happen.