• 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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
  • 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.

  • Cement in the snow

    Dann tug Treasure Coast had a snow-crusted barge with a cargo of cement manufactured at the Holcim plant in Ravena, NY. Treasure came down the North River early Wednesday heading for the distribution terminal in Flushing Bay.

  • Taking a winter beating

    Centerline’s Adeline Marie returned to NY Harbor early Tuesday with Marc N after an oil products delivery run up north. The barge looks like it has been through some things, probably due to running through heavy ice flows this winter. The Lincoln Tunnel vents in Weehawken are in the background of the first photo.