Ship Types

The following gallery depicts vessels that commonly visit or work on the Columbia River.

Articulated Tug And Barge

ATB’s consist of a large tugboat connected into the notch of a tank barge. A ‘hinged’ coupling allows the tug to detach from the barge when necessary and operate as a separate unit. ATB’s differ from an Integrated Tug and Barge (ITB) which has a rigid, semi-permanent connection.

Car Carrier

PCC’s or Pure Car Carriers have large ramps either amidships or at the stern to allow easy loading and off-loading of cars.

Container Ship

The largest ships currently calling at the Port of Portland, these vessels often exceed 900 feet in length and are capable of carrying over 5000 TEU’s (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers. Most are post-Panamax size ships with a beam of over 132 feet.

Cruise Ship

When visiting with passengers, these ships berth at the sea wall in downtown Portland or at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 2. They also will stop at Swan Island for drydocking and repair.

Open Hatch Cargo Ship

Identified by their large gantry cranes, these ships carry everything from general cargo to windmill towers.

General Cargo Ship

Often smaller vessels, these crane equipped ships haul bulk commodities, break bulk cargos and logs.

Heavy Lift Ship

Used for oversize cargos these semi-submersible vessels can transport other ships and container cranes like the one delivered to the Port of Portland.

Hopper Dredge

Dredges such as the Corp of Engineer’s ‘Essayons’ help maintain the navigation channel by removing sand from the river bottom and placing it aboard in a hopper that can be opened for discharge at another location.

Log Carrier

These are bulk cargo carriers set up specifically to transport logs.

Oil Tanker

Although no crude oil is transported on the Columbia River other petroleum products such as diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and gasoline are hauled in these tankers. The largest tankers are called VLCC's or Very Large Crude Carrier.

Panamax Size Bulk Carrier

So named because their beam of 106 feet is the maximum allowed width for passage through the Panama Canal, these bulk carriers transport much of the grain shipments from the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.

Product Tanker

These tankers carry of variety of specialty products such as edible oils or chemicals.

Sea Going Tug

Small but powerful these boats tow everything from petroleum products, scrap cars, wood chips and limestone to containers and large machinery. They can be seen either towing barges behind on a tow line or made-up to the stern of the barge and pushing it.

Suction Dredge

Unlike a hopper-type, dredges such as the Port of Portland’s Oregon maintain the channel by removing sand and pumping it to near-by locations for either in-water or shore-side disposal.

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