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September slips by
A busy September onshore schedule has left limited time for observations and posting. Bulk ship traffic has been heavy on the North River but mostly eluding NRN photography. Harbor tugs were moving on the North River last week to assist with docking at plants up in Westchester, while tanker barges and cement transporters have dominated observed through traffic. Security was tight over on the East River as the UN annual meetings kicked off.
Doris Moran and Marie J. Turecamo headed upriver last Thursday to help a bulk ship dock at the wallboard plant in Buchanan. 
Metropolitan Marine’s Pegasus also was running light Thursday, returning from assisting a sugar barge docking at the Yonkers Domino plant. 
Topaz Coast, which had brought the sugar north from Florida, headed light down to the Kills to use the facilities. 
Stasinos Marine’s Brinn Courtney was returning from the area of the Spuyten Duyvil swing bridge where a big crane has been operating. 
Thursday also saw the FDNY’s Three Forty Three boat travel upriver for a bit. 
The 587’ bulk ship Yuka D was heading upriver Wednesday evening. Yuka was signaling Albany after unloading Turkish cement at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Heidelberg Cement terminal. Yuka may be loading scrap in Albany for the return trip, or perhaps plans to discharge more cement at the Catskill/Cementon terminal south of Albany despite the indications on AIS. Yuka passed the big Lincoln Sea/DBL 140 ATB anchored off Edgewater. 
The Janice Ann Reinauer ATB came south from Albany in the rain on Monday with the barge fully loaded, heading for Providence and presumably on an ethanol run. 
Josephine Reinauer/RTC 83 were moving cargo in a more typical direction, heading for Albany on Tuesday. 
Timothy Reinauer/ RTC 84 returned from Albany with the barge light, also a typical direction of travel. 
Curtis Reinauer and RTC 82 spent time anchored on the North River, but on Wednesday they headed to the Bayonne IMTT for new cargo. 
Kimberly Poling had the Edwin Poling barge returning light from Albany on Wednesday. 
Jill Reinauer, one of Reinauer’s older and smaller non-ATB tugs not usually seen on the North River, returned from a Peekskill run with the 297’ RTC 28. Reinauer seems to use these small tug and barges for the run to Peekskill, perhaps due to shallow draft at that terminal. RTC 28’s loaded draft is reported as less than 11’ while Reinauer’s ATB barges mostly draw twice that. Mean low water by the Peekskill terminal is 13.1’ vs. 17.7’ near Newburgh. 
Susan Rose, not often seen moving cargo on the North River, had a loaded barge heading north Wednesday evening, passing DonJon’s Atlantic Enterprise with a light mud scow. 
The DonJon crew was back at work dredging the cruise terminal. 
Dann Marine’s Coral Coast had a light cement barge heading back to Ravenna Tuesday. 
Sapphire Coast came the other way with a loaded one the next day. 
The NYPD’s specialized Counter Terrorism Bureau boat, not part of the Harbor Patrol, has been on the North River in recent days, perhaps preparing for the UN events. 
By Wednesday, a security cordon was in place around the UN. The fast response cutter William Chadwick based in Boston has come down to assist as did a 33’ special purpose law enforcement boat which usually works out of Key Wets. Our local buoy tender Katherine Walker is holding down the fort near the shore, along with the NYPD’s 352 launch, a Coast Guard 29 footer, and a state DEC patrol boat. 
The cruise ship Insignia left the Manhattan Cruise Terminal Wednesday with an assist from JRT Moran. 
A kayaker made good progress against the ebb Tuesday, with Curtis Reinauer at anchor in the distance. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Just visiting
A trip to the East River and Hell Gate with the help of ticket on NYC Ferry on Tuesday provided a different perspective on the archipelago and a look at some vessels less often seen on the North River.
The oldest sludge tanker in the NYC DEP’s fleet is named for the North River water treatment plant but only occasionally travels to its namesake. On Tuesday, they were tied up at the Wards Island plant. 
The Stasisnos tug James Charles (the former Peggy Winslow) was transiting the Gate, returning to the Harbor from Newburyport, Massachusetts 
A crewman was jumping rope on the back deck! 
The NACC New Yorker was tied up at the McGinnis terminal discharging cement from New Brunswick, Canada as usual 
The survey ship Miss Emma McCall passed LaGuardia tower, heading for the Vineyard Wind staging area in Bridgeport. 
Vane’s Choptank was returning with a light barge from a run up the Sound. 
“The Boat”, an overflow jail facility on the Bronx shoreline is set to be closed imminently, with the population shifted back to Rikers Island. 
But prisoners could still be seen in the exercise area on Tuesday. 
Meanwhile, back on the North River, the cruise ship Amera remained at Pier 88 Tuesday before heading for Newport that evening and then onwards towards Canada. 
The NYPD’s Harbor Patrol kept an eye on the cruise terminal as usual. 
Wednesday morning saw another foreign flagged tanker heading for Albany. This particular shipping line has been running between Montreal and Albany all summer, with the tankers visible deeper in the water on the way out than on the way in. Ethanol is a possible export cargo being loaded. 
Chesapeake Coast, one of two Dann tugs based in NY Harbor with a distinctive striped tower, brought the light barge Chesapeake up to 72nd Street… 
…and turned into the flood tide to anchor. 
The Army Corp’s Hocking was on the North River Wednesday as well. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Regular traffic
The North River remained busy with familiar vessels as local schools resumed and we moved towards the first full work week of September.
The small harbor tanker Chandra B had a bunkering job on the North River Thursday. Chandra seemed to have turned off her AIS signal for about an hour as she approached her customer, but perhaps the delivery was at the 125th Street Pier. 
Vane’s Cape Fear headed north with a cargo on Double Skin 40 on Thursday. 
The Haggerty Girls/RTC 107 ATB came up the North River to anchor Friday for a few hours. 
The Girls passed Charles D McAllister, a veteran 1967 vintage harbor tug rarely seen on the North River, on one whistle. Charles had been up in Yonkers, probably assisting with docking at the Domino Sugar plant. 
CMT seems to be moving a lot of what looks like bauxite this month. On Saturday, Daisy Mae was heading back to Coeymans with the brown product, a few days after Mackenzie Rose made a similar run. 
Daisy was overtaken by Marilyn George with a petrochemical cargo on the barge Noelle Cutler heading for the Buckeye terminal north of Newburgh. 
On Sunday, Marilyn and Noelle were on their way back to the Bayway terminal on the Arthur Kill. 
On Sunday, Norfolk’s James William appeared to supplementing Buchanan12 on the Clinton Point quarry runs. 
Kirby’s Cape Lookout and the 400’ DBL 102 came upriver as a line of rain moved through and anchored off West 86th Street. 
Dann’s Coral Coast brought a loaded cement barge down from Ravenna Sunday late afternoon, heading for the terminal in College Point, Queens. 
Norwegian Escape was heading for another run up to New England and Canada on Sunday evening. 
A pair of canoers made good progress against the ebb Saturday morning. 
A cormorant dryed off Saturday morning. 
Pier I regular Luis, King of the Dock, was landing dusky smooth hounds again on Saturday morning, which he released. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Back to work
The first week of September following Labor Day marks the traditional and meteorological start of autumn. Tug and barge combinations crowded the North River anchorages over Labor Day but quickly dispersed Tuesday, heading for new cargos, while through traffic was also fairly heavy after the holiday weekend.
North River anchorages were crowded on Labor Day, with Saint Emilion, Timothy Reinauer, Dylan Cooper, and Vane’s Philadelphia all in residence. The Curtis Reinauer ATB was on the move with cargo, however. Source: MarineTraffic 
On Tuesday morning, CMT’s Mackenzie Rose had hoppers loaded with what looked like bauxite and stone heading back to Coeymans. 
Mackenzie was overtaken by the cab forward heavy lift ship BBC Amber heading for Port of Albany, possibly to deliver heavy equipment from her previous overseas port call in Spain or perhaps loading similar for export. Amber passed the anchored Saint Emilion with barge A87. 
And Mackenzie had to pass close to the end of Pier i to allow Amber to overtake and avoid the anchored Saint. 
Later Tuesday, the Timothy Reinauer/RTC 84 ATB picked up their anchor and headed for the Harbor, passing the anchored Saint Emilion and A87.
Kimberly Poling had the loaded Edwin A. Poling barge heading for Albany Tuesday. 
On Wednesday, it was their colleagues on Marylin George making the Albany run behind the Noelle Cutler barge, overtaking the taco boat La Barca on a sunset cruise. 
And Patrice McAllister left her Yonkers anchorage with RCM 262 heads-to-tails as usual when light. 
Wednesday was quieter but a Dann Marine’s Coral Coast did come through early with a loaded cement barge from Ravenna heading for the Bayonne cement terminal and passing morning commuter ferries. 
Centerline’s Jeffrey S., seen infrequently on Hudson River runs, came north with the charitably named barge Fight Multiple Myeloma heading for Albany. 
DonJon’s Meagan Ann headed for Albany Wednesday with light scows, probably heading to collect scrap. 
The tanker Harbour Fashion came through from Albany just after sundown on Wednesday, heading for Montreal. Fashion has been making regular round trips to Montreal this summer, and NRN believes they are carrying US ethanol for export to Canada though could also be delivering Canadian refined products to Albany. 
The US Merchant Marine Academy’s training ship Liberator was heading back to school on Kings Point after spending some time at the North River Shipyard in Nyack. 
Margaret Moran got a rare assist job at the North River cruise terminal Wednesday evening as Seabourn Quest headed for Montreal via New England and Nova Scotia. 
A pair of C130Hs with invasion stripes, a D-Day commemoration, flew up the River Wednesday. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Back to school again
The final week of August and run up to the Labor Day weekend has seen limited through traffic on the North River, while anchorages have filled up as barges wait for new cargos.
Kirby’s Lincoln Sea/DBL 140 is the largest ATB we see on the North River. They have been making New England runs up the Sound of late and anchoring in the North River or off Yonkers in between cargos. On Sunday they were passed at slack tide by DonJon’s Mary Alice heading north with hoppers to collect scrap. 
On Monday, they pulled up the hook and headed for the Upper Bay anchorages. 
DonJon’s Brian Nicholas muscled a scrap paper scow into the ebb tide Monday, servicing the DSNY’s Pier 99 transfer station. 
Reinauer’s B. Franklin and RTC 80 returned from a run up north with their barge light Sunday evening. 
By Monday morning, they were loaded up and heading north again towards Newburgh. 
Stephanie Dann was heading north again on Tuesday with a cargo on Boston Marine’s barge New England 29, the second time we have seen them on this route in late August. 
Vane’s Charleston spent some time anchored on the North River after a run up to Providence Tuesday before heading for the Vane dock in Red Hook. 
Marylin George had the loaded tanker Edwin A Poling heading for Albany Sunday evening as the North River Lobster Company’s Discovery dinner boat stayed out of the way. 
CMT’s Mister Jim had stone hoppers heading for the harbor Monday morning. 
Colleagues on Mackenzie Rose were heading the other way Tuesday with what looked like it might be Italian salt lightered off a bulker anchored north of the Narrows. 
Buchanan12 had its usual raft of stone hoppers coming down from Clinton Point, scattering a J80 sailboat race and passing the anchored Kristy Ann / RTC 103 ATB Tuesday morning. 
Saint Emilion was at anchor off Pier i Monday and Tuesday. -
Back to the North River
A return to the North River after a two week absence found familiar traffic as well as some less frequent visitors traversing local waters. A bulk cement ship the SSI Magnificent was seen heading for Cementon, NY depot after a stop at the Navy Yard, and this seems to be a regular routing now. On Thursday afternoon, FDNY and NYPD small boats headed for the Bridge were a vessel was reporting trouble. Janice Ann Reinauer also came up the River light, taking over a barge for Ruth Reinauer, which then headed light to the harbor.
The top of the North River, as seen from above, with a tanker barge heading south. Englewood Cliffs and Alpine are in the foreground, while Van Cortland Park is visible on the New York Side. 
SSI Magnificent brought a cement cargo from Turkey north Wednesday, heading for the Lehigh/Heidelberg depot in Cementon/Catskill, NY after first partially unloading at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. SSI ships seem to be servicing this route regularly now. 
Marella Discovery was back in New York, arriving at the cruise terminal on Wednesday with an assist from Moran Towing. 
Vane Brothers tugs arrived with a bunkering barge for Discovery, passing Classic Harbor Line’s Manhattan II. 
One of the Poling-Cutler line’s tugs (either Kristin or Kimberly) had the Eva Leigh Cutler barge light returning from Albany. 
On Thursday, colleagues on the Marylin George had a cargo heading the other direction on the Noelle Cutler barge. 
Genesis Vision was heading for the Kills with a light barge on Wednesday as well. 
Ruby Coast left a sugar barge in Yonkers and headed for the KvK to visit the facilities. 
Stephanie Dann made a Newburgh run with a Boston Marine tanker barge on Wednesday. 
Returning with the barge light on Thursday. 
Daisy Mae, recently hauled out, was back in the water pushing salt or sand north Wednesday evening. 
Reinauer’s Josephine with RTC 83 spent a few days anchored off 79th Street. 
Philadelphia anchored further north on Thursday. Also visible in the photo is Pelham, downriver bound from the Spuyten Duyvil swing bridge which was out of service according to a Coast Guard advisory. 
Pelham was pushing a hopper barge. 
Reinauer tugs are rarely seen light on the North River, but on Thursday, Kristy Ann came up slowly and seemed to meet up with Ruth Reinauer returning from Newburgh. Kristy took over Ruth’s barge anchored off 110th Street… 
…and Ruth headed light for the Kills 
Marine 1’s alpha boat hustled upriver in the rain Thursday to meet up with a vessel needing assistance near the Bridge. They appear to have escorted the vessel to the Edgewater Marina before returning to base. 
A Navy seahawk helicopter was over the River on Wednesday. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Summer breeze
While we often associate New York City Augusts with listless conditions, for the second year in a row the month has been windy, making for excellent sailing. Commercial traffic has seemed light, though two big heavy lift ships have slipped by this week unobserved to load GE generators at the Port of Albany. The highlight of the week on the North River was the Concord aircraft from the Intrepid Museum passing through on a barge, en route to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for repainting.
The British Airways Concord was loaded on a Weeks Marine barge and shipped to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for restoration work. Stephanie Dann did the honors. 
A Weeks Marine crane was brought in for the job and left shortly after the plane took off. 
The Corps of Engineers survey boat Dobrin has been doing work on the North River this week. Dobrin is normally based in Philadelphia, but the New York District’s usual survey boat, Moritz, may be out of service, having not pinged AIS for the past thirteen days. 
One of the NY Naval Militia’s patrol boats also visited the North River, a bit south of their usual stomping grounds around Haverstraw Bay. 
Dann Marine’s Coral Coast passed through Monday running light, returning to a sugar barge left up in Yonkers. 
On Tuesday, East Coast was going the other way, heading for the facilities on the KvK. 
Marilyn George passed the anchored B. Franklin Reinauer ATB with an up bound cargo. 
Fort Schuyler was heading the same direction later in the week. 
Kristy Ann/RTC 80 were returning light from up north. 
Janice Ann and RTC 103 were moving the other way later in the week. 
Buchanan12 was bringing empties back to the quarry Tuesday. 
Marella Discovery was in town, with a Vane bunkering barge left unattended alongside. 
A Navy CMV-22B, the naval logistics version of the Marine Osprey, flew a loop up the River from Chesapeake Bay Wednesday. 
Sailing conditions were sporty Tuesday on the Upper Bay. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Long may you run.
Observed weekend traffic was mainly local boats, particularly on Sunday, with most of the through traffic coming by on Saturday. Winds picked up during the day Sunday making for another great day of sailing. The John J. Harvey restored fireboat was back on the North River, always good to see.
The John J. Harvey was out on the North River for an excursion on Sunday from its Pier 66 base with a big crowd aboard. 
Harvey passed the Holland Tunnel vents. 
And another retired fireboat, the Al Smith, currently docked on Pier 25 and awaiting restoration. 
The active 343 fireboat was at its usual Chelsea base at Pier 53, just south of the Little Island Park. 
The Harvey in action in 1965, Photo from Katzive Family Archives 
The Army Corp’s Gelberman was on patrol for floating navigation hazards Sunday. The castle insignia on the stack will be familiar to anyone who has just seen the movie Oppenheimer. 
The Jersey City-based NJ State Police patrol boat passed the whispering Water’s Soul sculpture near the Jersey City Holland Tunnel vent. 
Viking Neptune arrived at Pier 90 from Montreal and Boston Sunday morning, using her bow and stern thrusters to dock without assistance. 
There was a crowd at Pier 88 as Norwegian Joy had a bunkering barge and the small Lesney Byrd alongside and the Vane Brothers tug Schuylkill stood by on the south side of Pier 90. 
Another Vane tug arrived with fuel for the Neptune. 
Schuylkill later left light, passing the Stevens Institute in Hoboken. 
Cape Fear later headed up to pick up one of the barges. 
Buchanan12 was plying its usual route, passing the anchored B. Franklin Reinauer on Saturday. 
Centerline’s William F. Fallon Jr. was also anchored on the River again, but this time the barge Long Island was light, not loaded. 
Dann’s Treasure Coast brought a cement cargo down from Ravenna on Saturday. They stopped at the Flushing terminal and by Sunday were heading down the coast, passing the Jersey Shore. 
The DEP’s Port Richmond tanker was working the North River plant, passing the Stevens Institute on Sunday. 
Patrice McAllister continues to make runs with oil products loaded in Delaware City near Philadelphia up to Albany. 
Mister Jim was heading back to Coeymans with empty hoppers Saturday. 
Lincoln Sea continues to kill time, moving between anchorages in the Upper Bay, North River, and Yonkers. On Saturday, they were heading back to Yonkers with their massive DBL 140 barge. By Sunday she was at a terminal in Bayonne, perhaps loading a new cargo at last. Pigeons were cozy on the remains of the Pier 66 transfer bridge Saturday ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Summer visitors
The North River has been seeing fairly heavy commercial traffic as we head into August, with sugar, cement, oil products, gypsum, stone, waste paper and scrap all on the move. Weather has been surprisingly cool with great wind for sailors and minimal rain after a wet July.
A pair of Moran harbor tugs, Doris Moran and Marie J Turecamo, headed upriver Friday morning, usually a sign that a gypsum bulkier needs assist docking or departing at the Buchanan wallboard factory. 
Sure enough, the Nord Sunda arrived on their heals, with a cargo of Spanish gypsum from Garrucha, Spain headed for Buchanan. 
Kimberly Poling had the Edwin A Poling barge returning light from a run to Albany Wednesday. 
Friday morning saw Poling-Cutler colleagues on Marilyn George with the loaded Noelle Cutler barge heading in the other direction. 
Vane’s Philadelphia spent time anchored off Edgewater this week before returning to the Harbor Thursday night. 
Kirby’s Cape Lookout and Nicole Reinauer ATBs were anchored south of the Philadelphia mid-week 
The Nicole Leigh Reinauer and the 460’ RTC 135 combination is one of the biggest Reinauer ATBs, and the biggest seen regularly on the North River. They headed for a new cargo Wednesday. 
The much smaller B. Franklin/RTC 81 ATB had a cargo heading for Newburgh Thursday. 
Janice Ann and RTC 103, between the B. Franklin and Nicole in size, was returning from Newburgh Friday morning 
Kristy Ann was overtaken by a pilot boat. 
The Knot Refined sugar barge was on the wire heading back to sea and returning to Palm Beach Thursday evening, passing Buchanan12 on one 
Coral Coast has been busy moving a cement transporter barge back and forth between New York area cement terminals and the Ravenna Lafarge plant. They passed by heading north Friday. 
Layla Renee is a small tug based in the Gulf of Mexico and rarely seen on the North Rive. On Friday she was passing through, coming down from Kingston and heading for Cape May. 
The US Army Corps of Engineers survey boat Dobrin is normally based in Philly and not seen on the North River, but they also came through Thursday afternoon, overtaking the Boston Marine Transport tug Quenames running light returning to the Harbor. 
DonJon’s Emily Ann passed a moored J80 sailboat at Pier 66 heading back with an empty scow to the DSNY transfer station at Pier 99. 
Emily waited while the scow was loaded with paper for recycling. 
Carnival Venezia left its summer home port Wednesday afternoon, heading back to the Eastern Caribbean with the remains of old NY Central 69th Street Transfer Bridge in the foreground and Pier 99 on the left. 
A Palisades Interstate Parkway Police RHIB passed Riverside Park on their way back to their jurisdiction. 
A NY State Police helicopter was standing by at the 30th Street Heliport. The State Police don’t routinely patrol New York Harbor, leaving that job usually to the NYPD. 
Buchanan’s Mister T headed north light on Thursday evening, apparently rendezvousing with Buchanan12 north of the GWB for unknown reasons. 
Buchanan12 was operating solo as usual on Friday, heading north with empties. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Life and death
The North River is a source of life and a venue for commerce and recreation, but it can also sometimes bring death. The first of August opened with a body found floating off the shores of Riverside Park South, at least the third found in the River this year (the second in Riverside Park) but there are probably more which have gone unreported. For more, see West Side Rag article. Life goes on for others as always, with the crowded anchorages beginning to empty out as a new month begins.
Marine 1’s Alpha boat responded initially to a report of a person in the water, but the FDNY gave way to the NYPD as it became clear rescue would not be necessary. 
A Harbor Patrol boat took over but stayed offshore. The task of recovery fell to the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit, which donned dry suits and entered the water with a gurney. 
The crew of the William F Fallon Jr. may have been watching the activity from their anchorage where they had been at rest with a loaded looking barge Long Island since Sunday afternoon. Later in the morning, they headed for the Arthur Kill and then tied up at a container terminal at the Port of Bayonne. 
Poling-Cutler’s Marylin George had a loaded Noelle Cutler barge heading for Albany Monday. 
Dann’s Coral Coast brought a cement transporter barge back to Ravenna after unloading at the Lafarge Flushing Bay terminal. 
The massive Lincoln Sea/DBL 140 ATB has been killing time for the past few weeks, moving between anchorages in the Upper Bay, North River and off Yonkers. On Tuesday, they were on the move, heading from Yonkers to a spot in the Upper Bay. 
A Vane Brothers bunkering team arrived to refuel the cruise ship Insignia which had arrived from San Fransisco after a stop in Florida and was set to sail for Reykjavik 
A visit to the East River found the Coast Guard’s training barque the Eagle visiting and tied up at Pier 17. 
North River regular Buchanan12 was also on the East River without their usual flock of hopper barges Monday. By Tuesday, they were back on their usual Clinton Point run. 
The 1962 vintage tug Deborah Quinn was also on the East River. The tug has been working with crews rebuilding the East River flood protection structures along the Manhattan shoreline.
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 