The Ship Report

Astoria gets a new Coast Guard Cutter Yesterday, a new Coast Guard Cutter came to town: she's the GCG David Duren, named for an enlisted hero whose nickname was "Big Wave Dave." She'll be at the Astoria dock for awhile, until her new digs at Tongue Point are ready. The Coast Guard will hold a comissioning ceremony at the Columbia River Maritime Museum on June 27.

Container service could continue at the Port of Portland The latest news about container service at the Port of Portland is that Oregon's governor has a plan to shore up the port for now, with $40 million in support. The caveat: the port must create a sustainability plan for its container service.

Another oiler in town, and yes, the water IS cold Today we'll look at today's schedule, which includes another military replenishment oiler like the one we saw yesterday (a ship that can refuel other ships at sea). And also a footnote about the beach this week... where I personally tried wading briefly in the ocean to see how cold it really is. The answer: it's really C

The plumb bow Today, a brief dive into ship design and some of the factors that can affect why boats and ships look the way they do. We'll look at the plumb bow feature you may see on ships and on some recreational boats and why a designer might choose to design a vessel this way.

Normalizing water safety: an idea whose time has come We do a lot to warn people about water safety, but perhaps not enough to change their minds about how they see it, as a concept in their lives. For everyone's benefit: victims, emergency first responders and Good Samaritans, it's time to make water safety "cool."

Today's maritime term: lightering Today we'll take another look at a specialized maritime term, one that may seem odd to folks not involved in the maritime industry. This word, llightering, has to do with the process of moving cargo, and sometimes fuel, usually from a larger vessel to a smaller one, for the purposes of making the other vessel lighter, and more able to mane

The origin and meaning of a common maritime industry term: bunkering Folks familiar with the maritime industry use this word a lot: "bunker" or "bunkering" or even "bunkers." It's not a word whose meaning you can easily figure out just by hearing it, but it refers to the fuel ships use and the process of filling up a ship's tanks so she has fue

Cruise ships on the Columbia, and why we don't see blue water cruises all summer A look at today's ship schedule, and a look at our cruise ship complement for the season, and why we don't see blue water cruise ships here all summer long.

Beautiful weather is here, and with it cold water dangers Every spring, we have these wonderful days (like today into the weekend) where the weather just blossoms into full summer mode - and we are understandably giddy with joy. However, while you're out there enjoying the beach and the riverside (as well you should!), keep in mind that winter conditions still exist when it com

Nightime running lights on ships Today, a look back in the Ship Report archives at an interview I did in the early 2000s, with a local maritime professional: Captain Robert Johnson, a now retired Columbia River Bar Pilot who was at the time working in the field in the waters off Astoria, Warrenton and Hammond. In this insider's look at ship running lights, he'll tell us wha