The Ship Report

I always like talking about this ship, because of her unique job and the role she plays in keeping people safe in a challenging part of the world. The USCG icebreaker Polar Star is a ship specially designed to handle difficult conditions that would sink most vessels. She’s an older ship, but well maintained, and […] The post Polar Star returns from Antarctica appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we talk about the weather – always a fascinating topic in our coastal region. And some interesting details about today’s arriving ships. The post Weather and some ship talk appeared first on The Ship Report.

A few things today: a closer look at our cruise ship du jour in Astoria, a look at ships coming and going, and a reminder of how ships at anchor let us know what the tide is doing. The post Norwegian Jade in town, and a look at tides and ships appeared first on The Ship Report.

The second cruise ship of the season comes to Astoria on Thursday, and it’s a good opportunity to talk more about these big ships, carrying many passengers, and what Astoria will see here as we move through the season. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Abxbay, CC BY-SA 3.0 The post Second cruise ship of the season comes to Astoria Thursday appeared first on The Ship Report.

We have an unusual spring snow storm on the way in the Cascades starting today, and colder than usual weather for the coast too. We’ll talk about how conditions up north allowed this cold air to flow down to us, and create winter like conditions in the middle of April. The post Cold weather on the way appeared first on The Ship Report.

So many times over the years I have said on this show that a ship is headed for “the shipyard at Swan Island.” Today we’ll take a closer look at that facility, who owns it, and why it has, for many years, been a great place to take a ship that is in need of […] The post The shipyard at Swan Island appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today the Nieuw Amsterdam, a 1000-foot long cruise ship arriving from San Diego, is the first blue water cruise ship to call on Astoria in 2026. She’ll head for British Columbia when she leaves here. Today we’ll talk about Astoria’s cruise ship visitors and why they tend to arrive in spring and fall. We’ll also […] The post First cruise ship for the Astoria season appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we’ll talk about a common occurrence on the river that can affect sea state and make it more turbulent to be out there in a smaller vessel: a west wind and an ebb tide. Understanding how to predict such conditions and plan for them is part of being a knowledgeable and safe mariner on […] The post Of ebb tides and west winds appeared first on The Ship Report.

Today we’ll talk about the fate of decommissioned ships. We have one on the river now, the USNS Watkins, which arrived yesterday headed to Vancouver. She’ll be decommissioned, or taken out of service, in July. We’ll talk about what’s next for her. The post What does it mean to decommission a ship? appeared first on The Ship Report.

Note: I’m publishing this podcast a day early because this ship will be arriving in the river around 8:30am Monday, and that’s before the show airs on KMUN. This ship is a US Military Sealift Command ship, designed to be a vehicle carrier, a type of ship referred to a as RO/RO – Roll on, […] The post USNS Watkins, a Military Sealift Command ship, enters the river Monday appeared first on The Ship Report.