SSI Magnificent, a 580-foot Marshall Islands-flagged bulk ship, came up the North River Wednesday carrying a cargo of cement from Turkey and heading for Catskill, NY after first partially discharging at terminals in Providence and the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Cement, the dry primary ingredient in concrete which is typically mixed closer to where it will be used, is often manufactured near a source of limestone and close to water transportation. The import terminal in Cementon/Catskill is located at the site of a former cement manufacturing facility which closed years ago. Cement is still manufactured on the Hudson, a bit further north in the Town of Coeymans, but heavy demand in the region is also met by imports from Turkey and Canada.

In addition to Magnificent, this week also saw a cement transporter barge on the North River being brought back to Coeymans for more product, and, over on the East River in the South Bronx, the Portuguese flag cement carrier NACC New Yorker unloading a cargo from the Gaspee Peninsula in Quebec at the McInnis Hunts Point terminal.