The Ship Report

Oil spill hits Oregon and Washington beaches Today, a few things: We'll talk about two maritime related holidays that happened this week: International Turtle Day and National Maritime Day. And a note of concern as this holiday weekend arrives: mysterious tar balls have been showing up on beaches in SW Washington and Oregon, along with oil soaked wildlife. So far authorities have not been able to determine the cause. If you see a bird or other creature covered in oil, call 1-800-22-BIRDS. (1-800-222-4737). This hotline is good in both Oregon and Washington. Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript052424.pdf

Update on the containership Dali in Baltimore It's been less than two months since the containership Dali lost control as was leaving Baltimore Harbor at night, hitting the Francis Scott Key Bridge and destroying it, causing the deaths of bridge workers, and closing this key US harbor to vessel traffic. Since then a unified command operation of skilled agencies and experts have been working to clear navigation channels so ships can resume calling on the port. This week they made huge progress and were able to move the ship out of the way and open the deep draft ship channel. We'll talk about what it took to get there.

US Coast Guard overseas Most people know that the US Coast Guard has a big presence in our coastal waters. But the Coast Guard also has a big international presence too, in over 160 countries. Today we'll talk more about the US Coast Guard, our fleet of ships and how to tell them apart, and the many Coast Guards of other nations, some of whom have partnerships with ours.

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. The Duren is docked at the 17th Street Pier by the museum.

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 COLD, yes, capital letters cold. Cold enough to make your feet ache.

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 maneuver, especially when it comes to water depth at the dock.

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 fuel to travel at sea. Today we'll talk about bunker and bunkering, and exactly what those terms mean. And how this important maritime function came to be named in such an apparently nonintuitive way.

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 comes to water and water dangers - it's still dangerously cold in both our rivers and the ocean. So even though the air is intoxicatingly warm, we're still in the Pacfic Northwest. And that means cold water, strong tidal currents, and rip currents in the ocean, year round.

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 what we are likely to see in a ship passing by at night. Lights on ships are designed with great purpose: they are meant to allow other vessels to see a ship at night and determine how it is traveling, to avoid collision. Lights also illuminate working areas of the ship were crew and pilots need to be.

A look at who's on the river today Today, a look at who's traveling on the river today, and a bit about cargo, ballast water, and land transportation for cargo after it gets to port.

How does the "gas pedal" work on a ship? Today, the answer to an interesting listener question about how the bridge communicates propulsion decisons to the engine room. In a car, we'd call this the "gas pedal," but it works differently on ships.