The big Barbara Carol Ann Moran/Louisiana ATB, a 5,100 HP tug paired with a 468-foot barge, made rare trip up the North River Tuesday evening, heading for a terminal in Rensselaer. Similar to the last time we saw her in May of this year, her voyage appears based on what I can see on AIS trackers to have originated in New Orleans. On this week’s trip, she stopped first in Providence and then at the Sprague terminal in Port Morris, The Bronx before continuing on to Rensselaer, presumably unloading refined fuel products from the Gulf Coast at each stop. Most refined product cargos we see heading up the Hudson are loaded in New York Harbor but fuel can sometimes come up directly from the Gulf as appears to be the case here, though all the usual caveats apply about making educated guesses based solely on port calls.