Columbia River Commerce 2

I’ve been fortunate to see the Columbia and do posts like this and this.  But equally fortunate is the fact Seth Tane lives there and periodically passes along photos like the ones below, Fennica, along with sister Nordica,  in Portland about a month ago. Fennica appeared here once six years ago in photos from Sea Bart, showing the Finnish icebreaker at work in the North Sea oil patch.

Fennica, as Seth noticed, was carrying a “capping stack,” the yellow object hanging from the red frame on Fennica‘s stern.  Fr the difference between a capping stack and a blow-out preventer, click here.

Also, notice the shape of the hull in the photo below, especially the widening flair about midships. In the weeks since Seth took these photos, the icebreakers headed out to Dutch Harbor, AK, and toward the Chukchi Sea, where in the past few days a hull fracture has been found.  To be followed.

Below is oceanographic research vessel Kilo Moana (T-AGOR-26), also in Portland.

Also this spring .  .  . Global Sentinel was on the Columbia, although she’s currently off the Oregon coast.

Many thanks to Seth Tane for these photos.