Cargo Ships

The general cargo ships has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, but has been to a degree replaced by the container ship. Ships are getting larger and larger all the time, as marine architects find new ways to create faster, larger ways to get around on the water and carry goods. It’s another  manifestation of the marketplace.

I spoke with Capt. Johnson recently about ship emissions. He agreed that pollution is an issue, but made an interesting point – that if you calculate the carbon footprint of ship borne cargo, because so much is hauled in one ship at a time the amount of fuel expended per item is actually quite small compared to items shipped using other means.

That doesn’t mean we don’t need to address the issue of ship emissions, but it does once again raise the point that maritime shipping is one of the most cost effective and overall efficient means of transportation anywhere.

The bottom line is that humans currently use a whole lot of energy and despite our fears about global warning, we aren’t making any real strides to lower the amount of fuel we burn.

- Joanne

Sea Chanteys in Astoria

If you like to sing sea songs, come on down to the Rogue Public House on Pier 39 in Astoria tonight, Feb. 25 from 7-9.

It’s the second meeting of a monthly gathering of people who like to sing along. Everyone’s invited – bring a sea song or two if you’re so inclined. Keep in mind that this is not a concert, just a gathering of friends, acquaintances and soon-to-be friends who like to sing nautical music.  Have a beer and some dinner, and enjoy!

This event is sponsored by the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Pacific Northwest Living Historians. Special thanks to Betsey Ellerbroek of CRMM for spearheading this fun event.

The sea chantey group plans to meet every fourth Monday at The Rogue Public House, from 7-9 pm.

Hope to see you there!

- Joanne

Car Ships

Lots to know about car ships — one other tidbit about car ships on the Columbia:

Such ships generally deliver about a third of their cargo in Portland or Vancouver, WA and then continue on to other ports to deliver the rest. Car carriers here sometimes come directly from Japan or Korea, or arrive from Vancouver, BC on a run down the coast. Also, if a car carrier is going to unload its last car and leave empty, sometimes the US  military takes the opportunity to load military equipment for transport to the next port the ship is traveling to. Car ships have hydraulic moveable decks inside that can adjust to the height of their cargo, so in theory they can handle large trucks and small cars or military vehicles, etc. with some adjustments. Anything on wheels is the preferred cargo of these RO/RO ships — Roll On/ Roll Off — and they are increasing in number on the Columbia as the U.S. imports more and more cars.

It’s interesting how our ship traffic reflects the world marketplace…

Joanne

Car ships

Per today’s report on the origin of car ships: Before the dedicated car ship came to be, cars would be carried on cargo ships with all the other cargo.  Of course, cars were not being shipped from place to place in the high volumes they are now, and the U.S. did not depend so heavily on vehicles manufactured in other countries.  It’s interesting how the shipping industry is such a reflection of the global marketplace.

Joanne

Pacific trash vortex

I’ve been reading about the existence of a giant patch of floating garbage the size of Texas, located in the middle of Pacific Ocean, where it slowly spins around, caught by currents.  It’s a combination of things thrown overboard off ships and land-based trash. If you want to check out an online story about it, visit this link at the Greenpeace website:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex

Yikes.

– Joanne

Ship Reports for Thurs and Fri

There’s been a death in my family and I’ll be out of town for the rest of the week. That means no ship schedule for Thurs and Fri. But there will be ship reports.

For diehard fans of ship traffic, you can go to www.columbiariverbarpilots.com and click on the arrivals and departures link. That will give you the bar pilot “dope sheet” of ships for the day. It’s updated around 9 am and 4 pm daily and sometimes more often if conditions warrant. Times are in 24 hour format, bar means the ship or tug is expected on the bar then.

I’ll be back Monday as usual on the Ship Report. Thursday and Friday’s shows are archives of a live show I did two years ago featuring fisher poets Gino Leech, Dave Densmore and Hobe Kytr. A delightful show with wonderful guests. A bit of the salty flavor of the Fisher Poets Gathering, coming up on its 11th year in Astoria this month, Feb.  22-24.

See you next week!

Joanne

Situational Awareness

This is from today’s Ship Report: it refers to the ability to think calmly in a stressful, especially an emergency situation, plan a strategy and see it through without panicking…. darn, I sort of like the option to panic…but it seems like generally a bad idea, as Captain Johnson explains…

Joanne

Efforts to reduce ship emissions

Feb 11 Ship Report:

Refers to stories from www.sustainableshipping.com

Go to the news tab and you can read more about efforts to make ships run cleaner.

California is taking steps to reduce ship emissions by 80 percent while in port; Seattle already has cold ironing in place to allow cruise ships to plug into shoreside power.

Joanne

Air pollution from shipping

Here are some of the stats I mentioned on Friday’s report about ship-caused air pollution:

• U.S. ports are among the biggest sources of emissions and pollution in the country
• Ships using bunker fuel emit more sulfur dioxide than the entirety of the world’s cars, trucks and buses combined
• The long term goal should be to replace bunker fuel entirely with an alternative fuel such as natural gas or hydrogen, which are already being studied for use on  board ships.

Source: www.sustainableshipping.com

Report:”U.S. Ports and Air Pollution: A Perfect Storm,” Energy Futures, Boulder, Colo.

– Joanne

Fisher Poets

For people who like music and poetry, the coolest annual maritime event in the region is happening this month — The 11th Annual Fisher Poets Gathering takes place in Astoria Feb. 22-24.

Organizers are looking for volunteers to help with button sales and door checking.  Short shifts, which leaves you plenty of time to enjoy the show!

Call Michael at 503-436-0971