The Ship Report

The Ship Report, Thursday, June 11, 2026Today we'll take a look at our glorious weather forecast with a caveat: the water in the ocean and our rivers is about as cold as cold tap water. Try it. Too cold for swimming really, but more to the point: just right for hypothermia and cold water shock.

The Ship Report, Tuesday, June 9, 2026Today we'll talk about (and hear) some of the most familiar things we experience here on the river: rain, ships and fog horns.

The Ship Report, Thursday, June 4, 2026Fleet Week Thursday: Tours begin on Rose Festival Ships in PortlandOne final wrap up today on the Rose Festival Fleet which begins tours today in Portland.Ships are located on the seawall in Tom McCall Park, 10-4. Get there early because tours end promptly at 4 and if you are waiting on land at 4 you may not get in. And I also wanted to share again that I learned some updated information yesterday from the Rose Festival Website that indicates that you need Real ID to board for a tour. Here’s what it says on the Fleet Week page: “When arriving for public tours, all visitors will be required to present a REAL ID-compliant government-issued photo identification (see approved identification list below), and pass through an airport-style security screening checkpoint prior to boarding the ships. A temporary form of ID is not an acceptable form of identification.”For all the current information about Fleet Week events, go to the festival website at rosefestival.org, and click on the Fleet Week link at the top of the homepage.On Monday depending on what time they depart, we could see the USS Chafee and the HMCS Max Bernays heading downriver, I’ll keep you posted on that on Monday’s show and also any updates on the Ship Report Facebook and Substack pages.

The Ship Report, Tuesday, June 2, 2026Fleet Week TuesdayShips are starting to arrive in the river for the Portland Rose Festival; they’re the part of the festival referred to as Fleet Week. I’ll be tracking the ships as they arrive and sharing that information here. Today two ships head upriver: the Canadian Navy ship the HMCS Max Bernays passed Astoria inbound this morning to Portland and will be in Portland by early afternoon, and around 7:30am the USS Chafee leaves the Port of Astoria headed for Portland.Both ships will be on the Seawall at Tom McCall Park in Portland, open for tours starting later this week. For more info, see https://www.rosefestival.org/events/2026/fleetweekAlso, the USNS Watkins, a Military Sealift Command vehicle carrier, should be at the Port of Astoria this afternoon around 2:30 pm. She left the river yesterday after departing from Vancouver, but will be back today at the port here in town.

Thursday, May 28, 2026We see a lot of the same kinds of ships here, going to a set series of places. Today we'll talk about the different kinds of ships, and ports, we see here locally, and the inland water highway that makes much of our commerce possible.

A look at an unusual vessel anchored off Astoria, and strong ebb tides this weekOn Tuesday some observant folks noticed an unusual ship in Astoria's anchorage - a car carrier. Such ships usually pass us by on their way to Portland or Vancouver, but this one experienced engine problems outbound and had to stop in Astoria's anchorage.We'll talk about why an outbound stopover like this doesn't happen often, and why, when it does, it's a complex feat to accomplish safely.We'll also talk about strong ebb tides this week, and why mariners will be watching this closely.

A deeper look at a familiar subject: maritime pilotsI talk a lot in general about maritime pilots on the show: they are so central to everything that happens with ships in the river.But what we see off Astoria is just a snapshot of a much larger picture.Today we’ll talk about pilots on ships, from outside the river in the ocean, passing Astoria where we often see them, to upriver in port. It’s a complex process involving multiple pilots, each one an expert at the top of their profession.

PNW Offshore Race starts Thursday, open house in Ilwaco todayToday from 11 to 2, you can stop by the Port of Ilwaco and see some of the 50 sailboats getting ready for the 50th annual PNW Offshore Race from the Columbia River to Victoria BC.Also, two interesting military ships arrive in the river today, headed for the Portland shipyard.

As our spring weather forecast evolves, a look ahead at La Nino and El Nino in the PacificAccording to UW meteorologist Cliff Mass, we have some rain coming our way this week and later in the month. It’s a sign of a switch from La Nina to El Nino conditions in the Pacific. Today we’ll take a look at what these two climate terms mean.