The nautical and historical origins of May Day

Today is May Day, the first day of the month of May. We'll talk about the day's historical origins as a celebration. Then we'll delve into its contemporary nautical meaning. The expression "mayday" has saved lives for over a century, when uttered over VHF radio as a distress signal to the Coast Guard.

Transcript of this show available here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/Transcript050124.pdf

USCG rescue off Tillamook shows Coast Guard adaptability in an emergency

Today's show is about an unusual Coast Guard rescue in the waters off Tillamook, where they were able to rescue someone whose ship was further out to sea than would normally be possible for a USCG helicopter rescue. Crews adapted to add flying range to their aircraft, and provided ICU services in the helicopter for a critically ill patient.

Transcript of thos show available here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/Transcript043024.pdf

A look at vessel pollution in port

Today we'll take a quick look at another cruise ship due in Astoria today, and then we'll talk about ways the maritime industry is working to reduce vessel pollution in port. This incudes the development of all-electric tugboats, a relatively new option in the world of commercial vessels.

Today's Ship Report Episode Transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/Transcript042924.pdf 

Link to Sea Change Radio story about Zero Emission Marine Vessels: https://beta.prx.org/stories/525366

Two cruise ships in Astoria today, more to come

Today we'll look at an unusual occurrence in Astoria: two cruise ships in town on the same day. One will anchor at the Port of Astoria. The other will anchor off the downtown waterfront and take passengers to and from land in a small boat called a launch.

We'll also talk about the spring and fall cruise ship calendar for blue water (ocean) cruises coming to Astoria.

Loss of Portland container service could hit small businesses hard

Today we take a look at 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 city recovers and efforts continue to clean up the debris, the loss of container service has hit small businesses there hard that used to receive inventory via container ships.

Something similar in terms of shipping, but thankfully minus the disaster, could happen in our region if the Port of Portland ends container service. We'll take a look at the impacts on small businesses when container service abruptly ends.

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

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...

Turns out quite a bit. Disasters are a reason why most companies shipping cargo have insurance against this sort of event. If they don't, it could be devastating.

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 district is, compared to a private port, and also about the ebb and flow of cargo services on the river.