Today, an unusual ship alert for a unique US Coast Guard ship that we hardly ever see on the Columbia. The USCG Cutter Healy, the Guard’s largest ship and an icebreaker, has been at the Portland Vigor shipyard since January for maintenance and repairs.

She heads downriver and out to sea today. We’ll talk about her unusual mission and capabilities, which include breaking through 4.5 feet of solid ice, and hosting scientific crews hoping to study high latitude waters near the North Pole.

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It was in the “ordinary things we take for granted that are quite important” department: the National Weather Service on Sunday suddenly did not have weather forecasts available to the public on their website, thanks to an IT issue. As they worked to fix it, we went a few hours without updated weather info. Maybe not the end of the world in most cases, but for folks in parts of the country experiencing severe weather, accurate updated NWS warnings could be lifesaving.

Today we talk about the importance of this taxpayer-funded service, which is free to the public, and relied upon by land dwellers and mariners alike. How its data is the basis for most forecasts across many platforms and apps. And how we take for granted the complex system that makes it possible.

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Continuing the theme of ships in the anchorage this week, I thought I would share another listener question about anchored ships. It has to do with a frequent choice ships make, which is to deploy the anchor on the port side instead of the starboard side when anchoring off Astoria.

It’s an interesting question with an equally interesting answer, that shows the level of complexity of even ordinary things relating to vessels.

The post Listener question: why do ships anchored off Astoria tend to use port anchors? appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today I’ll answer a listener question about why anchored ships can look so disorganized when the tide is changing on the river.

It’s a good question that involves water flow, natural systems, and reflects the complex and amazing place we live in.

The post A listener question about anchored ships: Why do they sometimes look so disorganized? appeared first on The Ship Report.

Ships sitting calmly in the anchorage are actually far from still: they’re doing a slow dance around an ingenious anchor and chain system that works in strong currents, acting like a spring, to protect the ship and keep it stable.

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Today, an update on the ocean sensors story from last week, and a look at how wind and tide greatly affect river conditions – something to pay attention to if you’re going out in a boat.

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It might seem like a ship is just moseying by on its way up or downriver, but the truth is a lot of planning and scheduling goes into the movements of every ship on the Columbia. Today we’ll talk about the factors at play, and the strategies our professionals use to keep ships, people and cargo safe on the river.

The post A look at how ships are scheduled and spaced as they transit the river appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today I’ll share a story that’s a follow-up to Monday’s program on ocean sensors. It’s about how some US senators are now responding to the news that National Science Foundation ocean sensors are being removed from our waters off Newport and Grays Harbor.

And I’ll share the results of an afternoon of research, in my attempt to answer a listener question: is there is fraud in NOAA’s ocean monitoring program?

The post Follow up on ocean sensors, and a listener question about government fraud appeared first on The Ship Report.

Two local people drowned this weekend, one on the Willamette River, and one on the Columbia. Today we’ll talk about factors in our area waters that can make doing relatively normal recreational activities a life-threatening hazard.

The post Local drownings highlight water hazards people encounter doing ordinary things appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we’ll talk about the removal of National Science Foundation Pacific Ocean data sensors off the coast of Oregon and Washington this week, a move scientists say will cripple their ability to know what’s happening in the ocean, as a record breaking El Nino is expected to hit the region this summer.

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