HTTPS://northriver.blog

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.

  • Import cement, export scrap

    SSI Marvelous, a 580-foot bulk ship, was heading for sea after discharging her cargo of cement from Turkey at the import terminal in Cementon, NY. We see Marvelous and her fleet mate SSI Magnificent regularly on this route. On this trip she had called on Providence to partially unload before first coming up the Hudson. After leaving us, Marvelous headed for Boston where she is currently tied up at a scrap dock, probably loading metal for export back to Turkey. Meanwhile, Magnificent is at anchorage back in Turkey.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    , ,

  • At the dam

    New York State Marine Highway tug Nathan G, 1977 vintage and 1,200 HP, was working at the Gateway Tunnel cofferdam site off Pier 66 on Thursday. Visible in the background are tank truck trailers on a barge holding cement that will be mixed with river water and mud to reinforce the river bottom at this point, allowing the tunnel to eventually be drilled through.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    ,

  • In from the cold

    The Canadian navy offshore patrol ship William Hall arrived on the North River Friday morning from her home base of Halifax, heading for the south side of Pier 88. Hall was met off Hoboken by Ellen McAllister who assisted with docking and may have transferred a pilot. The Hall is one of six vessels in this class, with two more under construction. She was commissioned in May 2024 and this may be her first visit to NYC, though we have seen her classmates Harry DeWolf and Frederick Rolette here in recent years. These ships are primarily charged with patrolling Canada’s arctic region while Canada’s more heavily armed frigates work in NATO territory and the Pacific, though Hall also did a drug interdiction mission in the Caribbean earlier this year.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    ,

  • Mobility

    An Air Force C5 from the Air Mobility Command in Dover Delaware flew up the North River on Thursday morning at a little more than 2,000 feet above the water. The photo doesn’t really capture how huge the plane looks at low altitude but it is nearly 3 times the size of the C130s we see more regularly on this route, closer in size to a 747 or A380 really, and though those civilian planes are larger on most dimensions, we don’t see them this low over the city. The C5 flew up the Hudson, made a left at Albany, looped around Rome, NY, and then headed back home to Dover.

    Source: FlightAware

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive

  • Old with mods

    The Stephen Reinauer tug paired with the 347’ RTC 80 tank barge spent some time anchored on the North River over the weekend. The 2900 HP tug was built back in 1970 but was substantially updated by Reinauer about 20 years ago to convert her to an ATB tug. The raised pilot house is new, but the lines around the stern point to her original vintage. As of Thursday morning, Stephen is parked at the Erie Basin barge port in Red Hook after returning the day before from a product delivery in New Haven.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    , ,

  • A different kind of duck

    A pair of American black ducks were enjoying the waters of the North River off the West 60s on Friday. I saw a pair around here last winter as well, mixing in with our usual mallards and Canada geese. The male is the one with the yellow beak. These birds apparently breed in the warmer months up north in Canada, the Great Lakes and the Adirondacks, but winter in coastal areas of the East-Central U.S.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive

  • Holding it all together

    Cement barges are moving on the North River this week. Tuesday morning saw Dann Marine’s Sapphire Coast with light Transporter 1801 heading back to the Amrize plant near Ravenna, NY to load more cargo after discharging at terminals in New England and also calling at the materials pier in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. The evening before, Coral Coast came through with a loaded cement barge from the plant heading for College Point on Flushing Bay in Queens.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    , ,

  • Road trip for the Saint

    North River regular Saint Emilion had her A87 barge on the wire, heading out of the harbor for a trip offshore Thursday morning. The Saint travelled down to a terminal in Baltimore and then returned, reaching anchorage off Yonkers early Monday morning where she remained through sunrise Monday.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    , ,

  • Next customer

    Angele N, a 625-foot bulk ship, was light and heading for sea as she passed Weehawken Friday afternoon after discharging her cargo of Spanish gypsum at the wallboard plant in Buchanan, NY. As usual, Angele was preceded by a pair of Moran tugs heading back to the harbor after assisting the bulker leaving the pier in Buchanan. As of Sunday morning, Angele is offshore and out of terrestrial AIS range, signaling Port Arthur Texas as her next call. Doris and Mary are at the Moran base on the Kill van Kull.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    , ,

  • Winter supplies

    Lindsaylou, a 620-foot Marshall Islands flagged bulk ship, came up the North River at midday Friday, overtaking the the Poling & Cutler tug Marilyn George Rensselaer-bound with the loaded Edwin A Poling oil products barge. Lindsaylou was arriving from Egypt and heading for the Port of Coeymans and a salt cargo seems most likely.

    ©2024 Daniel Katzive
    , , , , ,