For me, shipspotting started with the names.

I'd be crossing the Steel Bridge, and some hulking ship would be taking grain at the eastbank, and the name of it is what would hit me. It would be my oracle for the day. They don't call ships things like Huge Disaster and Grave Humiliation, so the oracles were usually pretty good: Summer Fortune, New ( Read more... )

The bulk carrier Basic Arrow has been taking on wheat at the Steel Bridge grain elevator for the past couple of days. The inaptly name Basic Arrow is blunt and round-nosed and has a top speed of about 15 knots, whereas your basic arrow is narrow and pointy, and considerably faster over the short haul.

( I liked the funny name. This ship collides with nothing but politics. )

Tied up next to the Steel Bridge is the first ship I've seen there in months. Its name is Golden Venture, a very shiny Panamax bulk carrier so new that the grain pouring into its massive hatches this morning was probably harvested before the ship left the Chengxi Shipyard at Jiangyin, China ( Read more... )

The last few ships I've seen at the grain elevator by the Steel Bridge have been duds. No piracy, no accidents, no near-misses in the North Sea. Today's ship, the Zhonghai, a Panamax bulk carrier under the Panamanian flag, is, sadly, no exception ( Read more... )

Once a year, the Navy sails up the Columbia, makes a slight left at the Willamette, and triple-parks a few big gray ships at the downtown seawall.

It's all part of the Rose Festival, a creaky old Portland tradition involving parades, a queen, and a lot of meaningless bullshit charming old-fashioned ceremony ( Read more... )

Looming large in a fairly terrifying way the last couple of days next to the Steel Bridge (and making the Steel Bridge look particularly fragile by comparison): the Asia Graeca.

Without doing any research at all, I can tell you two things about this bulk carrier: it's nice and new, and it's very, very big.

( Unfortunately, all I had was my phone-cam. )

The Arethusa, a bulk carrier of Panamanian registry, was taking grain this morning next to the Steel Bridge ( Read more... )

Tied up and taking grain next to the Steel Bridge, the charmingly-named Epiphania, a Panamax bulk carrier of Panamanian registry. "Epiphania" is a Greek place name and is the root of "epiphany," one of the most overused words of recent years. It means "a striking manifestation," "a sudden appearance," basically, "showing up."

( Turns out that's a pretty apt name for this ship. )

Lately departed from the grain elevator next to the Steel Bridge, the Far Eastern Marina, a bulk carrier of Panamanian registry, owned by the Far Eastern Silo & Shipping Corporation of Taipei.

( I guess it can't help it if it's ugly. )

Taking on grain at the Steel Bridge elevator today, the Global Challenger, not to be confused with a famous hot air balloon of the same name.

The huge grain hatches were open, and stenciled in very large block letters on their undersides were the words "SAFETY FIRST". You will see the irony of this in a moment.

( Tugboats to the rescue. Yay, tugboats! )