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Wednesday March 20–March lion
Wednesday opened with three Reinauer ATBs sitting at anchorage, with B. Franklin, Josephine and Curtis arrayed south to north like the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. By evening, only Curtis remained but was joined by Kirby’s Cape Hatteras.
B. Franklin and RTC 81 remained off Gutenberg Wednesday morning. 
Josephine was further north 
Curtis was off Edgewater. 
Boston Marine’s Quenames had New England 29 loaded with a products cargo and heading for Newburgh in late afternoon. 
Hays’s Linda Sue left anchorage off Riverdale with Doubleskin 55, headed for Gowanus Bay for the day but then headed back up River Wednesday evening, passing the anchored Cape Hatteras at slack tide. -
Tuesday March 19–exit winter
The final days of winter felt like spring, but the first day of spring felt like winter, with winds gusting over 30 knots in the Upper Bay and temperatures in the 40s. North River anchorages filled up, with tanker barges perhaps escaping the wind.
Linda Sue, sighted moving along the south shore of Long Island Saturday towing astern after leaving Providence, was in the notch and anchored under the Palisades off Riverdale as winter ended. 
C.F. Campbell came back up the North River Monday with the Flaco barge looking at least partially loaded… 
And remained anchored through Tuesday off North Bergen. 
Campbell passed the BBC Switzerland heading for sea after delivering some heavy equipment at the Port of Albany 
B. Franklin was reunited with RTC 81 (last seen with Haggerty Girls) anchored off Gutenberg, with B. perhaps having spent some time out of service. 
Josephine and RTC 83 anchored a bit further north after returning down the Sound from a New England run. 
Boston Marine’s Pinuccia had New York 30 loaded with a products cargo and heading north on Tuesday. 
Dann’s Coral Coast headed for Ravenna with a light cement barge. 
Dann’s Ruby Coast was coming the other way, running light and heading for the harbor after leaving a sugar barge in Yonkers. 
The DEP Red Hook tanker headed for the North River treatment plant Monday, overtaking Buchanan12 heading north with its usual consist of light stone hoppers. 
A reported shots fired incident shut the northbound Henry Hudson Parkway and brought NYPD aviation to the North River. 
One of the NYPD’s counterterrorism boats was also seen, along with an NJ State Police boat. 
Cherry Blossoms are in bloom along the New York shoreline. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Thursday March 14–return of the Concord
There were lots of photographers on the North River Thursday, on hand to catch the return of the retired British Airways Concord to the Intrepid Museum on Pier 86. The plane had spent a few months at GMD shipyard in the Brooklyn Navy Yard being repainted and restored. Other than the plane, traffic on the North River was typical.
Haugland Group’s Miss Madeline brought the Weeks barge up from a yard on Staten Island after leaving the Navy Yard Wednesday. NYS MHT’s Maddie K provided assistance at the dock. Presumably the similar names are a coincidence. 
Dann’s Chesapeake Coast brought the massive Week’s 553 crane up. 
The plane took flight for perhaps the last time. 
On final approach. 
Buchanan12 made its usual round trip to the Greenville flats. 
Boston Marine’s Quenames returned from Albany with what looked like New England 29 but could have been New York 30, and headed for a spare dock in Perth Amboy. 
Centerline’s C.F. Campbell anchored on the North River for the second time this month. Campbell was paired with the barge Flaco, apparently not just a name for owls. 
CMT’s Erin Elizabeth came down from Coeymans with stone hoppers 
And passed the anchored Reinauer Kristy Ann/RTC 80 combination sitting off Edgewater since Wednesday evening. 
North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue’s Marine 1 was on the North River for the second day in a row Thursday, this time paying a visit to Edgewater Marina. 
They were joined by North Hudson’s smaller boat. -
Wednesday March 13–midweek
Balmy spring weather arrived, bringing cherry blossoms out along the North River, though water temperatures remain cold. Traffic was light.
Justine McAllister, not often seen in through traffic mode on the North River, had RCM 260 loaded and heading for Albany 
North Hudson Fire Rescue had their Weehawken-based fire boat training on the river, making a full circuit figure eight around Manhattan and Staten Island. 
Dann’s Zeus returned from the New Hamburg fuel terminal with Double Skin 40 and headed for a Brooklyn dock. 
Kristin Poling had the larger capacity Eva Leigh Cutler barge returning from Albany and heading for the Upper Bay. 
Kristy Ann/RTC 80 came up the North River at sunset and anchored off Edgewater. 
A Metro-North maxi bomb came down the Hudson Line with the P32AC engine trailing and prepared to follow the tracks to the left along the Harlem River ahead of the Amtrak Spuyten Duyvil swing bridge. -
Wednesday Mar 6–flood watch
Soaking rains continued to limit photographic opportunity and traffic remained light.
The venerable Dace Reinauer and RTC 83 headed towards Albany, making the Hyde Park anchorage by sundown. 
Dace passed the anchored Haggerty Girls with RTC 81, before the latter headed for the Bayway terminal. 
Evelyn Cutler headed from Albany with Noelle Cutler barge after spending some time at the GMD shipyard in Brooklyn Navy Yard. 
Mackenzie Rose came south with what looked like a prodigious amount of scrap. -
March 5–soaker
Soaking rains kept a limit on traffic and photography Tuesday.
Boston Marine’s Pinuccia made an early return from Newburgh and headed for the Shell terminal in Sewaren 
Ruth M. Reinauer/RTC 102 headed for Newburgh with cargo, passing the Haggerty Girls with the smaller RTC 81 barge 
Centerline’s CF Campbell, never seen before by NRN, was anchored off 72nd Street. CF was recently on the Delaware River and may have been away from NY Harbor for a while, last having appeared on the Tugster blog in 2021. -
March 4–in like a lamb
Warm air moved over the area as we came into March, bringing heavy rain Saturday and then warmth. Traffic has been fairly busy.
The 590’ bulk ship Eva Global headed for Rensselaer to load scrap on Sunday after transiting the C&D Canal. 
Dann Marine brought the Montville sugar barge up from Florida, heading for Yonkers Saturday 
Chesapeake Coast got a rare assist job up at the dock there as conditions cleared up on Sunday. 
Erin Elizabeth had a stone cargo heading for the harbor Sunday. 
Saint Emilion spent some time over the weekend docked off Guttenberg with A87 before heading for GMD shipyard at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Perhaps the tug or barge will have some work done. 
Pocomoke anchored off North Bergen with a loaded looking barge over the weekend before heading around the Battery and through the Gate for New Haven on Monday. 
The Reinauer Twins/RTC 104 ATB entered the North River and headed north with a cargo 
Cement traffic has been heavy as spring approaches. Treasure Coast headed back to Ravenna with a light barge Monday. 
Daisy Mae had a hopper and deck barge heading for Coeymans 
The 580’ bulk ship Manta Zuhal left the Brooklyn Navy Yard cement dock Monday and headed up the North River at sunset, likely to unload more Turkish cement at the import terminal in Catskills, NY. 
The company was at home Monday, with Marine 1 and Marine 1a at the Pier 53 base in Chelsea. 
Warm temperatures brought an outrigged kayak onto the North River Sunday. -
Leap Thursday—heavy equipment
Traffic was brisk Thursday after Wednesday’s lull and the overnight gale. A number of ATBs came up from the Upper Bay overnight during the storm and remained at anchored on the North River through the day. A large piece of GE equipment came through heading for a power plant in New Jersey.
DonJon’s Emily Ann brought a large GE rotor down from Port of Albany heading for Port of Newark and, according to the Port’s social media, ultimately destined for a power plant in New Jersey. 
The mighty Atlantic Enterprise followed towing the Chesapeake1000 crane which had been used to move the rotor from a rail car to the barge up in Albany. 
DonJon’s Sarah Ann was more locally employed, working the DSNY Pier 99 waste paper transfer station. 
Marilyn George was off to an early start heading for Albany with a loaded tank barge. 
The Haggerty Girls and RTC 81 were close behind, but only heading as far as Newburgh. 
Haggerty Girls passed Kristy Ann and RTC 80 who had come up overnight during the storm and remained anchored off the Boat Basin through Thursday. 
Ruth M Reinauer also anchored overnight during the storm but then returned to the Upper Bay. 
Kirby’s Cape Hatteras/DBL 81 was also at anchor off 72nd Street after coming up overnight from the Upper Bay. 
Coral Coast has been up and down the North River this week moving cement and returning for more. On Thursday, they were south bound with a loaded cement barge heading for Bayonne. 
CMT’s Erin Elizabeth had large and small stones moving south from Coeymans to a yard on the Kill van Kull. -
Wednesday Feb 28–quiet before the storm
Observed commercial traffic was nil on Wednesday on the North River and anchorages were empty south of Yonkers. Despite gale warnings going into effect a few ATBs were riding it out in the Upper Bay rather than coming up to the calmer waters of the river. By sundown winds were already gusting at over 20 knots in the Upper Bay and wave heights at Ambrose Light were approaching 10 feet.
A call of a person in the water brought a heavy police and fire response to Pier i around midday, though the report turned out to be unfounded which is often the case as passersby mistake things floating in the water for people.
Shore-based fire fighters were ready to get wet but did not enter the water. 
Marine 1’s alpha boat checked things out from the water. 
Harbor Patrol arrived as FDNY was leaving and checked on various pieces of debris floating in the channel. 
The Army Corp’s tug came up next collecting flotsam, whether called by the NYPD or just on usual rounds was unclear. 
The small fueling tanker Chandra B visited Pier 98, likely topping up the backup winter fuel supply for the Con Ed steam plant stored on the GCS 230 barge docked there. 
Anchorages were clear despite rough weather ahead. -
Tuesday Feb 27–foggy start
Morning fog obscured the Jersey shoreline and Lincoln Tunnel vents as Kristin Poling moved the company’s higher capacity barge Eva Leigh Cutler upriver heading for Rensselaer. 
Coral Coast, seen Monday coming down from Ravenna with a cement barge headed for Flushing Bay, was on the way back north Tuesday morning. 
Justine McAllister’s elevated wheelhouse was visible above RCM 250 as they returned from Portsmouth NH and headed for anchorage off Yonkers. 
Haggerty Girls, now often seen paired with RTC 81, returned from a run up to Newburgh and headed for the Upper Bay. 
With ice season perhaps done for the year, Coast Guard 65’ harbor tug Hawser spent the night at the USCG mooring south of the bridge, and then headed for Bayonne base. 
The larger 140’ Sturgeon Bay headed north from base and was approaching Poughkeepsie by sundown 
Marie J Turecamo and Kimberly Turecamo headed for Buchanan to help sail a bulker at the wallboard plant. 
A trio of Navy MH53-E Sea Dragon helicopters, who’s main mission is mine counter-measures, flew up from JFK, circled the statue twice and came up the North River to just past the bridge… 
Before flying back south down the Jersey Shore.
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 