The Ship Report

In our region’s maritime history, the Columbia River Bar has long been known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, because of all the vessels lost there, at the mouth of the river. Nowadays, even with all our high tech modern gear and resources, it’s still considered one of the most dangerous river entrances in the world. Today we’ll talk about some of the reasons why.

The post Why the Columbia River Bar is so dangerous even in modern times appeared first on The Ship Report.

The historic fireboat David Campbell found a permanent place in history yesterday, after being placed on land at Astoria’s Columbia River Maritime Museum. A big crowd turned out to watch the proceedings, which involved lifting the 244,00 lb. boat off a barge and carefully placing her on land as an outdoor exhibit, soon to be open to the public.  The boat has a long. honored history of service in the Portland area.

Today we’ll talk about her new role educating the public, and about fireboats and what they do.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons. The David Campbell in past years welcoming the Rose Festival Fleet to Portland, Oregon.

The post Historic Portland fireboat comes to Columbia River Maritime Museum appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we’ll talk about economies of scale in the maritime industry, which means that the more you can ship at once in a single vessel, the more money you save in transportation costs. Sounds pretty dull, right?

Well, when you start looking at the numbers, it’s really kind of mind boggling. The amount of cargo a single barge can carry compared to say, a train of freight cars, or a fleet of semis, is pretty incredible. We’ll learn why they say barges are the cheapest mode of transport in the US. And when it comes to ships, the numbers go even higher.

The post A look at economies of scale in cargo and why it’s such an interesting deep dive appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we’ll look at some of the ordinary things that add up to an interesting day in the region, in terms of maritime things.

Winds should die down later this week, and a look at some details about ships on today’s schedule.

The post A look at today’s ship schedule and marine weather appeared first on The Ship Report.

For some folks, seeing a list of ships coming in and out of the river is just that – a list.

When I look at them, I see all kinds of details that I’ve learned from many conversations I’ve had over the years with career mariners in our region and beyond.

I’ve soaked up what they told me, because I found it fascinating. It’s rewarding for me to share that with you here on the show.

So we’ll talk a bit about marine weather and then take a look at a couple of ships, and a bit of what they’re about.

The post A look at the details of today’s ship schedule appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we’ll talk about how we can look for clues in the marine environment right in front of us, or use readily available information, to keep us safe and enjoying life as we use the river and ocean beaches. We’ll talk about some things locals know that allow them to work with, instead of against, the immense power of the Columbia River and the ocean.

The post How noticing the natural world around us makes us safer on the river and ocean beach appeared first on The Ship Report.

It’s another unseen piece of the maritime industry puzzle: how do ships get cargoes on and off. We’ll take a look at some of the most common practices.

The post A look at how the ships we see load and unload cargo appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we have a small ship schedule, and that presents two opportunities for me here: to reassure you that a day here and there with fewer ships is not a trend. It’s just what happens. And also, I have a chance to use this time to look at the ships that are here in more depth. There’s a lot of interesting detail to talk about. Let’s take a look…

The post A close look at today’s ships and cargo appeared first on The Ship Report.

This week we’re celebrating the birthday of legendary ship captain and maritime pilot Captain Deborah Dempsey. She was a Columbia River Bar Pilot for decades here in Astoria. She sailed around the world as the master of big ships.

And from her admission into the Maine Maritime Academy in the 1970s to her hiring as a bar pilot, her life as been filled with instances where she has been the first woman to fill many of the roles she has held in the maritime industry. She’s also a heckuva nice person, a good friend and an incredible mariner. Happy Birthday, Deb!

The post Happy Birthday, Captain Deb Dempsey appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today I’ll answer a couple of listener questions about what it means when ship traffic numbers are low (hint: not much on a given day), and a question about car ships and why they never seem to look different whether they have loaded or unloaded cargo (the secret decoder phrase is: ballast water).

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