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Vane ATB makes a rare visit
We often see Vane Brothers tugs and tank barges anchored in the North River, passing through on the way to Albany or bunkering cruise ships in the terminal, but its rare to see their big ATB units up here. But this week, the Wachapreague/DS-803, a 4,400 HP tug paired with a 405-foot bow thruster-equipped barge, was anchored off Yonkers and then headed down the North River to the Bayway terminal on the Arthur Kill.
On the way down, the ATB passed the conventional Vane tug Philadelphia anchored with DS-508 off West New York. I believe the Wachapreague/803 unit has worked in the Gulf in the past but was in Philadelphia last month. This was the first time I have seen her.
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Up from Philly
Kirby’s big Skipjack/Penn 91 ATB (4,000 HP tug and a 414-foot barge) made a rare trip up the North River last week, I believe bringing a fuel cargo from refineries on the Delaware River (or South River to the old Dutch) up to the Buckeye terminal in Albany. By Monday, when this photo was taken, the unit was on the way back to its Philly home base. This was the first time I’ve seen Skipjack on the North River since October 2022.
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Peeling back layers
Work is well underway now on the restoration of the old New York Central 69th Street transfer bridge. Workers have built a scaffolding and removed the non-historic sheet metal exterior and netting leaving the original iron work exposed. Down below two weeks ago, a fisherman who had been trespassing on the spud barges tried in vain to explain to the NYPD why he needed access. He was not detained or summonsed and eventually went on his way.
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Passing the park
Vane Brothers tug Patuxent left anchorage and moved down the North River last week with the a light barge, passing Riverside Park and a J80 sailboat heading down river under power in light wind. Ten days later, Patuxent is currently at anchor in Raritan Bay heading into July 4 weekend.
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Cement mixer
Dann Marine’s Coral Coast came down the North River last Monday, passing Hoboken with a loaded cement transporter barge. Cement manufactured at the Ravenna, NY plant is brought south by barge to terminals in NY Harbor and sometimes continues up the Sound to distribution hubs in New England.
The day this photo was taken marked the spinoff of the North American operations of Holcim into a new company called Amrize which means the Ravenna plant, which has operated since 1962 under various trademarks including Lafarge and Holcim, is now under that new corporate umbrella.
A week later, Coral is currently heading back down the Hudson Wednesday afternoon with a new cargo loaded at Ravenna overnight.
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The big one
The Nicole Leigh Reinauer/RTC 135 combination is the biggest ATB we see regularly coming through on runs upriver, though we don’t see her as often as some of the smaller units. The Nicole Leigh tug is rated at 7,200 horsepower and the barge is 460 feet long.
Last week, the unit was returning to the harbor from Albany and passing Port Imperial in Weehawken. This week, Nicole/135 visited Boston and is currently on the way home having just cleared the Cape Cod Canal Tuesday morning.
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Oil can
Rolf Williams, a small 175 deadweight ton tanker belonging to Marine Oil Services, was likely delivering a lubricating oil to Carnival Venezia at Pier 88 last week. Rolf was tied up alongside a Vane tank barge delivering fuel while Vane tug Fells Point waited across the slip tied up at Pier 90. Venezia has begun its summer scheduled, cruising to Caribbean and Bermuda from NYC.
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Adding salt
CMT’s Erin Elizabeth came up the North River Tuesday, heading for Coeymans with what I believe was probably a cargo of Egyptian salt lightered off a bulk ship in the Upper Bay. They passed the Reinauer Twins/RTC 104 ATB at anchor off North Bergen, NJ. As of Saturday morning, Erin is back in NY Harbor and the Twins appear to be picking up a new cargo at on the Arthur Kill in Port Reading.
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Summer time blues
Summer is a busy time for the FDNY’s Marine Battalion. On Wednesday evening, Marine 1 worked to secure a wrecked jet ski to a floating dock at Pier 83. The Marine Battalion chief’s boat came up from Brooklyn as well and is visible in the background in the photo below. The jet ski had struck a submerged piling while traveling inside the pier line south of Pier 76. The riders were on the dock speaking with NYPD at this point and did not appear to be injured. Saturday brings the annual “jet ski invasion” to the East and North Rivers, with up to 800 riders expected—perhaps a lot of fun if you are on a jet ski but pretty annoying for everyone else on the river.
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Project work
Stasinos tug Charles James ran light up the North River Wednesday morning heading for Haverstraw Bay. The tug spent some time at the spot where the Champlain Hudson Power Express cable will re-enter the Hudson off Congers after running on shore through Rockland County so perhaps Charles’s voyage related to that project. CHPE has been in the headlines this week as temperatures soar and the grid comes under pressure. When completed next year the cable will bring much needed hydro generated power to the city.
Observations on the Hudson River as it passes through New York City. The section of the Hudson which passes through New York is historically known as the North River, called this by the Dutch to distinguish it from the Delaware River, which they knew as the South River. This stretch of the Hudson is still often referred to as the North River by local mariners today. All photos copyright Daniel Katzive unless otherwise attributed. For more frequent updates, please follow northriverblog on Facebook or Instagram.
North River Notes 