The bulk ship SSI Marvelous came up the North River Monday morning, the first of two bulkers to pass through within a half hour of each other. Unlike most of the bulk ships we see this time of year which are bringing salt to the Port of Coeymans, Marvelous was carrying cement and heading for the Cementon pier in the Town of Catskill after first calling to partially discharge in Providence.

No cement has been manufactured in Cementon since the early 1980s, but the waterside facilities have been converted into a terminal for imported cement brought over mainly from Turkey. Cement is still manufactured further north in Ravenna and brought to market in New York Harbor and New England via Jones Act-compliant tug/barge combinations, making cement one of the few products that regularly moves both directions on the river.