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Returning to the front
USCGC Hawser with the towers of Jersey City’s growing Journal Square business district visible tucked in behind Weehawken Coast Guard Cutter Hawser was heading back to ice breaking operations up north after some time at her Bayonne base. Both Hawser and the other 65-foot harbor tug based in Bayonne have been busy keeping the channel and terminal piers clear of ice for barges this winter, along with the larger 140-foot ice breakers. Albany temperatures will get up into the 50s this week so perhaps the ice season is finally coming to a close.
USCGC Hawser passing Marjorie McAllister returning from an assist job at the Yonkers sugar plant -
Spud barge for Yonkers
Stasinos tug David Winslow passed up the North River on Friday with a spud barge in two, heading for the dock at the sugar refinery in Yonkers.
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Ice protection
The ice breaking dolphins protecting the North River water treatment plant were working as designed Friday as Vane Brothers tug Fort Schuyler headed north with the loaded DS-53 barge en route to a pier by a power plant north of Newburgh.
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Add salt
The Panama-flagged bulk ship Bulk Valor moved up the North River Tuesday en route to the Port of Coeymans. The 625-foot bulker was arriving from the Mediterranean carrying much needed road salt as local press up north has reported tight supplies amid persistent icy cold conditions.
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Bye bye barge
Making up bow to bow Centerline’s HMS Justice was at Con Ed’s Pier 98 on Wednesday to retrieve the HMS 2605 barge left there earlier this year. The tug’s crew and maybe a tankerman made up to the barge bow to bow, backed it out into the channel, and then ran around to the stern to push to the GMD Shipyard in Brooklyn. Barges at this pier hold backup fuel oil for the big 59th Street steam plant, mainly used during winter months when natural gas supply is short.
Backing out 
Running around to the stern 
Centerline colleagues on Hawsepiper passed by with the Flaco barge while the work was in progress, returning from Albany -
Pilot on board
A Sandy Hook pilot boarded the transatlantic sail freighter Gran de Sail 2 at anchor in the North River Tuesday. The Coast Guard sometimes requires pilots aboard foreign flag ships anchored in the harbor during high wind conditions, and with gusts over 30 knots all day, that may have been the case Tuesday. The 167-foot GdS2 remained on the river overnight.
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Hey, it’s Franklin
Franklin Reinauer, I believe the smallest tug in the Reinauer fleet, was on the North River Monday with the 300-foot RTC 42 tank barge. After spending a very windy morning at anchor on the river, Franklin was heading back to the harbor Monday afternoon, passing the Port Imperial ferry terminal in Weehawken and the West New York water treatment plant looming behind the Bull’s Ferry condos.
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Long cold winter
The long cold winter has meant lots of demand for heating oil up north and the Hudson River has been busy with tank barge traffic. On Friday morning, the Saint Emilion tug/ A87 tank barge pair operated by Poling-Cutler were heading for Rensselaer and Hawsepiper/ Flaco were en route to Buckeye Newburgh with pool product cargos.
Saint Emilion passing West New York en route to Rensselaer with the A87 barge 
Hawsepiper and Flaco heading for Buckeye Newburgh terminal -
Big unit
Early Friday, the Meredith Reinauer/RTC 150 ATB came part way up the North River as far as the cruise terminal on the way back from Providence. The unit executed an impressively tight u-turn mid-river and headed for the company’s Kill van Kull yard. The Meredith Reinauer/RTC 150 combination is, I believe, one of the biggest ATBs operating in the northeast, even a bit bigger than Nicole Reinauer/RTC 135. Unlike Nicole/135 which we see periodically heading north, we do not usually see Meredith/150 up here.
©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
At work in the fog
Fog moved over the North River Thursday as temperatures warmed up. A pair of Army Corps of Engineers boats worked to corral a piece of lumber in the afternoon, helping keep the river clear of hazards to navigation in poor visibility.
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 