• Passing by

    Poling-Cutler tug Marilyn George spent some time anchored on the North River last week with the barge Edwin A. Poling. On Sunday they were passed by colleagues on Kimberly Poling returning to the harbor with barge Noelle Cutler.

  • See a tug, think ship

    Moran tugs running light up the North River usually singnal there is some action coming at the wallboard plant in Buchanan NY. Sure enough, a few hours after Mary Turecamo passed by Sunday, the 656-foot bulk ship Eastern Venture came through, Buchanan-bound with a cargo of Spanish gypsum, the principal raw material in wallboard. The plant gets about 12 ships a year and, together with the sugar refinery in Yonkers and a small oil products terminal in Peekskill, is one of the only remaining users of Westchester’s deep water shoreline for maritime transportation. In addition to Mary, Kimberly Turecamo also helped dock the ship.

  • Punching the clock

    The Army Corps of Engineers driftwood collection vessel Gelberman exited the North River after a patrol on Wednesday. Gelberman was passing the office towers and Colgate Clock of Paulus Hook in Jersey City, the former site of Colgate-Palmolive’s HQ and factory complex until the 1980s. Container cranes in Bayonne are visible in the distance.

  • New and old, big and small, heavy and light

    The first day of spring brought warm moist air and fog to the North River. The B. Franklin Reinauer/ RTC 81 ATB (4000 HP tug launched in 2012, 347 foot barge) was heading for Albany with a products cargo and passed Stephen Reinauer with RTC 61 who had anchored off West New York on the way back from Newburgh (2900 HP 1970 vintage tug, 311 foot barge).

  • Brant season

    It’s a sign of spring when Brant geese arrive on the North River, which they do every year around this time. These were spotted on Thursday near Pier 51.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
  • Unusual tow

    Stasinos tug John Joseph had an interesting tow as they visited the mouth of the North River Wednesday. They were bringing the 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Finback down to Baltimore from points north and made a loop as far up as Pier 25 after coming down the Sound, through the Gate, and around the Battery and before heading out through the Narrows, perhaps waiting for congestion to clear under the bridge. Finback is normally based in Maine and must need some repair at the Coast Guard yard in Baltimore. By Thursday morning, they are rounding Cape May and heading for the C&D Canal.

    Source: MarineTraffic

  • Deck barge heading north

    Haugland Group towboat Emma Rose came up the North River early Tuesday, passing Weehawken with a Weeks Company deck barge, heading for Port of Coeymans.

  • Off to load

    Vane Brothers tug Patuxent left anchorage north of the GW Bridge with the DS-508 tank barge Monday afternoon and headed down the North River, en route to Perth Amboy to load a new cargo. They are passing the cliffs of North Bergen NJ in the photos.

  • Uncle Dace and the Twins

    Dace Reinauer / RTC 62 came up the North River Sunday evening with a cargo heading for the Global Terminal in Newburgh as storms moved in. They passed the much newer and bigger Reinauer Twins / RTC 104 ATB at anchor off Guttenberg after a visit to the Sprague Terminal in Port Morris, the Bronx. Dace is vintage 1968 with 2,820 HP and a 311 foot barge. The Twins is a 4,000 HP 2011 built tug with a 413 foot barge.

  • Monochrome

    Rose Cay Maritime’s Susan Rose moved under the GW Bridge, passing the Little Red Lighthous northbound with a cargo for Rensselaer Thursday. By Sunday morning, she is back in New York Harbor.