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Coming and going
Tugs and tanker barges accumulated in the North River anchorages on Wednesday, similar to what we saw Monday into Tuesday. This is somewhat unusual in fair weather, even as we did get small craft warnings for the Harbor Wednesday afternoon due to wind gusts above 20 knots. The apparent glut of capacity could reflect a lull in cargos as winter heating season ends and summer driving season has yet to ramp up. It might also be tempting to view this as another indication of slowing demand, consistent with the steady drop in New York Harbor diesel prices we have seen in recent months, but this is probably a stretch. In any event, Wednesday saw Kristy Ann return and Cape Canaveral arrive, joining Evelyn Cutler, and B. Franklin Reinauer who remained from Tuesday. Kimberly Poling came up the River and swapped places on the barge with Evelyn later in the day.
Reinauer’s Josephine returned from Albany with a light barge and headed for Reinauer’s Richmond Terrace dock, passing B. Franklin, Evelyn Cutler and Kristy Ann with their respective barges. 
Kirby’s Cape Canaveral arrived on the River making a loop back to the Harbor before returning to anchor off the Boat Basin. 
Evelyn Cutler left their barge briefly unattended as Kimberly Poling arrived to take over. They passed the anchored B. Franklin. 
Pinuccia returned from Newburgh with a light barge, passing between the anchored Cape Canaveral and a sailboat under power. 
Navigator also had a light barge, coming back from Albany 
Dean Reinauer was heading north with a cargo, passing Buchanan12 on one whistle with their usual raft of stone barges, as well as the anchored Cape Canaveral. 
Coast Guard 140’ tug Sturgeon Bay made a loop up to Yonkers and then returned to their Bayonne base. 
The Army Corp’s Moritz made a patrol as far north as Dobbs Ferry before returning to the Harbor. 
Up above, a Coast Guard Dolphin chopper made a loop up the River flying from their Atlantic City base. 
Vane Brothers tugs arrived with a bunkering barge for the cruise ship Marella Discovery, negotiating around DonJon’s dredging team. 
Discovery docked at Pier 90, on a round trip run from Florida with a stop in the Bahamas. 
The dredgers were now working between Pier 88 and Pier 90 
A trimaran sailboat with its mast shipped motored north ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Taking a break
North River anchorages filled up with unused tanker capacity on Monday despite mild weather in the Harbor and fair weather ahead. By Tuesday morning, Janice Ann Reinauer, Kirby’s Cape Hatteras, Evelyn Cutler, Vane’s Charleston, and Kristy Ann (Reinauer) were lined up from north to south between the Boat Basin and the Bridge. By Tuesday evening, all had headed out for new cargos with the exception of Evelyn Cutler, but then B. Franklin Reinauer arrived and dropped anchor off 72nd Street. Observed traffic has not been particularly notable, with the exception of Brinn Courtney coming through with an unusual tow—an oil spill response barge heading for Coeymans.
Evelyn Cutler, Charleston, and Kristy Ann anchored south of the Bridge Tuesday morning. Buchanan12 can be seen to Charleston’s left in the distant haze with their usual wide raft of hoppers. 
A closer look shows Charleston’s barge has their derrick up moving a hose as Buchanan12 moves the crushed dolomite 
Janice Ann made an early Tuesday departure from their 72nd Street anchorage, heading for KMI Carteret after a brief stop in the Upper Bay 
Marilyn George spent a hour or so on the North River on her way down from Albany and then headed for Tremley Point on the Arthur Kill 
Kristy Ann was on their way by late afternoon, heading for the Upper Bay 
Charleston followed suit, heading for the Vane dock on the Gowanus Canal 
B. Franklin arrived on the River in the late afternoon and maneuvered into the flood tide to drop anchor off 72nd Street. 
Pinuccia was moving product, heading for Albany with a loaded tanker barge 
In an atypical move, Stasinos’s Brinn Courtney came through towing a light looking tanker barge, signaling Coeymans and arriving from Norfolk. Stasinos is not usually in the oil products transport business, and tanker barges do not usually head for Coeymans where there is no oil products terminal. The barge, upon further investigation, turns out to be an oil spill response barge belonging to Marine Spill Response Corporation, so perhaps the barge is being used for some clean up or remediation operation. 
Warm temperatures and strong steady breezes made for perfect sailing conditions. 
The wing boarder has been back on the River, last seen in April getting plucked from the water by Harbor Patrol after struggling. This weeks’ conditions appeared more conducive as they passed behind and inland of the Charleston. -
Spring weekend
Mothers’ Day weekend passed with fairly typical traffic observations. If Poling-Cutler tugs dominated traffic during previous weekdays, the weekend was heavy with Reinauer Transportation moves. Beautiful conditions prevailed through Sunday.
Kristy Ann came through midday Friday with a cargo for Albany 
They returned Sunday and anchored off Edgewater 
Dace Reinauer, 1968 vintage with mods, was running close behind Kristy Ann 
Next came the Haggerty Girls, also Albany bound 
Early Saturday, Dean Reinauer was heading for Newburgh and later continuing on to Albany 
Sunday morning saw Boston Marine’s Quenames returning from Newburgh with a light barge 
Buchanan12 was making its usual crushed dolomite runs on Sunday 
Dredging activity returned to the north side of Pier 90 even as cruise ships arrived Sunday and occupied either side of Pier 88. Sea Fox was standing by with a dredging barge, flanked by Harbor Patrol boats for no clear reason 
The Army Corps had its survey boat Moritz on the North River Friday 
Coast Guard tug Sturgeon Bay returned from a trip up to Albany 
Norwegian Prima made its final departure from NYC of the season. Prima is heading to Iceland and will be making Reykjavik to Southampton, England runs for the summer. 
Norwegian Joy will be making Bermuda runs from NYC all summer, but Joy got a late start Sunday, not leaving before sundown as her bunkering barge only cleared after 6pm 
For the second day in a row, a pair of Marine heavy lift helicopters flew up the River on Friday Air temperatures were warm but the water is still cold. A kayaker capsized south of Pier i but was able to get back aboard and continue paddling with help from their SUP friend. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Weekday dredgery
DonJon Marine’s dredging team was back at work in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal this week, perhaps adding some depth back ahead of Fleet Week later this month. Otherwise observed traffic has been fairly typical on the North River, with Reinauer and Poling-Cutler crews moving oil products north, and stone coming south from the Clinton Point quarry. Up above, military traffic has been heavy.
DonJon Marine’s dredging crew was working between Pier 90 and 92 early in the week 
By Thursday they had moved on to the south side of Pier 88 
Mary Alice was towing loaded mud scows to the Historical Area Remediation Site off Highland NJ, just outside the harbor and coming back with empties. 
With other DonJon tugs busy dredging, the company’s low slung canal-max tug J. Arnold Witte was on recycling duty at Pier 99 
George Holland has been making regular runs to the Tilcon quarry in Clinton Point, supplementing the usual daily runs of Buchanan12 
Buchanan12 remains in service as well, making its usual runs from Clinton Point. 
One of the newer Reinauer ATB combinations, Dean Reinauer, headed for Newburgh Wednesday 
The much older Stephen Reinauer was Albany-bound on Thursday 
A Poling-Cutler tug stopped off 72nd Street on Tuesday 
Marilyn George headed north with a cargo on Thursday, passing a loaded party boat 
Kimberly Poling was running light heading north earlier in the day 
Vane’s Charleston was anchored south of the Bridge Thursday with a light barge 
Carolina Coast was heading back to Yonkers Thursday evening to rejoin a sugar barge after a trip down to boat yards on the Kill van Kull 
The Bayonne-based icebreaking cutter Sturgeon Bay was heading for Haverstraw Bay Thursday, trailing its usual cloud of smoke 
Another cutter moved up the North River on Monday evening. The Adelie is usually based in Port Angeles, Washington State, and its not clear what they are doing on the East Coast. 
Army Blackhawks were flying north Thursday 
As were Marine heavy lift Super Stallions 
A trio of goslings was spotted Monday 
Cormorants are working hard as usual ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Outdoor activity
Perfect weather brought heavy recreational activity back to the North River, with motor, wind and human power vessels very much in evidence. Commercial traffic was heavy as well, particularly on Sunday. Norwegian’s Prima spent the day on the north side of Pier 88 and the USS Coooperstown remained tied up on the south side after their commissioning ceremony on Saturday which featured a 19-gun canon salute.
A load of sugar headed for Domino Yonkers, coming up the coast from Florida on the barge Jonathan and tug Carolina Coast Metropolitan Marine, which seems to handle docking assist at the Yonkers plant, had one of their two small tugs, the Pegasus, follow Carolina up to help dock the barge. Later, Pegasus headed back to the Harbor 
Dann’s Discovery Coast, with their unique stripped tower, had a cargo heading north, probably heading for one of the smaller oil depots in Westchester or Duchess Counties. They passed a J80 sailboat. 
The DEP tanker Red Hook carried a load of sludge towards the Battery, heading for the centrifuges at Hunts Point. 
Boston Marine’s Pinnucia had a cargo heading for Albany 
Kimberly Poling came through Sunday morning heading for Albany as well 
MHT’s Nathan G had a mineral cargo from up north heading for the Harbor Sunday evening. 
Vane’s Cape Fear refueled Norwegian Prima. 
Prima later left on her final spring Bermuda cruise. She will return to NYC next week and then transit to Iceland, where Prima will spend the summer running between Reykjavík and Southhampton, UK. 
This repurposed Blues Mobile-style former Marin County California sheriff’s boat, last seen in November 2022, was back on the River heading north. It is still unclear who owns this boat now and why they have not painted over the Marin logo on the superstructure and sheriff markings on the hull. 
A group of kayakers on Sunday 
An NYPD patrol boat passed the Little Island Park and the Whitney Museum Sunday. 
HRCS J80 sailboats enjoyed the building wind Sunday afternoon 
The schooner Adirondack, based at Chelsea Piers, raised sales off Hoboken as an HRCS J24 sailboat prepared to pass astern ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Spring at last, again
Conditions improved dramatically as the week progressed, while commercial traffic observations were light and typical, with fuel moving north and cement and stone moving south.
The GCS 230 barge surprisingly was returned to Con Ed’s Pier 98 fuel dock by a pair of Vane tugs after an absence of a couple of days. The barge holds number 4 oil, a backup fuel for the 59th Street steam plant which normally burns natural gas, and last spring it disappeared in spring and returned in November. In retrospect, the barge’s disappearance last weekend seems to have been to accommodate the big Weeks Marine crane which spent Tuesday at the pier, and perhaps Con Ed anticipates it will still need to burn some oil this year.
Poling-Cutler tugs were busy Thursday, with Kimberly Poling coming through with an Albany cargo… 
And Kristin Poling close on their heals 
Stephen Reinauer was coming the other direction, returning with a light barge from up north. 
Pearl Coast brought a load of cement down from Lafarge’s Ravenna plant Friday morning and headed around the Battery, through the Gate and out Long Island Sound heading for New England 
Later Coral Coast was moving the opposite direction, pushing a light cement barge back to Ravenna. 
Shannon Dann had unknown business up north on Thursday, but by Friday they were back in Erie Basin. 
The GCS 230 fuel barge was back at Con Ed’s Pier 98, delivered by a pair of Vane tugs Friday morning after vacating its parking spot last weekend to make room for a heavy crane barge earlier in the week 
The Billion Oyster Project had its small boat loaded with what looked like students on Thursday. 
An Army Chinook chopper moved north on Thursday -
Through traffic
The North River saw steady two-way traffic Tuesday. Early showers gave way to sun, but temperatures remain unseasonably chilly.
CMT’s Mackenzie Rose came through early Tuesday with loaded hoppers heading to Newark from Coeymans 
A pair of Reinauer ATBs remain anchored in the North River, Gracie and Kristy Ann 
Weeks Marine’s Virginia brought one of the company’s heavy cranes up to Pier 98 
Where they occupied the space recently vacated by the GCS 230 fuel barge. By the end of the day the heavy lifting on the Con Ed pier was complete and they headed back to base. 
The 154’ Coast Guard cutter Warren Dayampert remained tied up at the end of Pier 86, but did not stay in town for the weekend commissioning ceremony of the USS Cooperstown, leaving before sunset and heading for the north shore of Long Island for the night. 
A Coast Guarder was doing some work on the Dayampert’s anchor chain. 
Preparations were underway on the USS Cooperstown for Saturday’s ceremony 
Harbor Patrol stationed an extra 31’ RHIB at Pier 86 
In addition to the usual small launch based there 
Stephen Reinauer had a cargo heading for Albany 
Dean Reinauer was close behind, heading for Newburgh 
Nicole Leigh Reinauer was coming the other way, returning from Newburgh with a light barge 
Balico’s small tug Navigator, not often seen on the North River, had a small tanker heading for Albany. 
Quenanames had a cargo heading north as well, passing a party boat out of Chelsea Piers. 
Dann’s Treasure Coast had a load of cement coming down from Ravenna, heading to Lafarge’s Bayonne terminal 
Jordan Rose left their anchorage off Yonkers and headed for the Arthur Kill, passing Buchanan 12 pushing empties back towards Clinton Point. 
The first gosling of the year was seen in Riverside Park South 
Possibly coming from the now unattended nest above the combined sewer overflow at the end of 66th Street where two unhatched eggs were left abandoned. -
Arrivals and departures
The first day of May brought some notable arrivals and departures from the piers along the west side of Manhattan. Leaving early Monday was the Dutch frigate HNMLS Holland, which spent a few days tied up on the north side of Pier 90. She appeared to be heading for home to Europe after some months on station in the Dutch Caribbean.
Also having left at some point over the past few days was the GCS230 barge, which spends winters moored at Con Ed’s Pier 98 fuel dock. GCS230 was the last vessel afloat to have been built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and it spends winters tied up at Pier 98 storing back up number 4 oil for the 59th Street Steam Plant, which mainly burns natural gas but occasionally relies on oil during peak winter demand. GCS230’s departure is yet another reminder of the arrival of spring.
Genesis Energy’s tug Valiant also left town with its tanker barge on the wire, heading for sea and signaling a return to the Paulsboro Refinery on the Delaware. Valiant arrived on the Hudson Friday from Philly with a light barge. Friday night, they were down in the narrows, lightering a cargo from the tanker Pro Onyx, recently arrived from Amsterdam. After anchoring through the stormy weekend off Yonkers with the laden barge, they now appear to be heading home, with a cargo of European refined products heading for the mid-Atlantic market. Meanwhile, Pro Onyx has docked at the Shell terminal in Sewaren, presumably delivering the rest of the cargo to the New York Harbor market.
In the arrivals column was the brand new US Navy Littoral Combat Ship Cooperstown, docking at the south side of Pier 88 ahead of a commissioning ceremony scheduled for Saturday. A new Coast Guard cutter, the Warren Deyampert, also arrived. Deyampert was commissioned in Boston in March,
and may be in town for the Cooperstown ceremony. They docked at the end of Pier 86, the Intrepid Museum pier.Meanwhile, skies cleared Monday after two days of drenching rain, but the North River anchorages remained crowded as wind gusts above 40 knots continued to whip up seas on the Harbor.
The Dutch frigate HNLMS Holland made an early Monday departure from Pier 90. Haugland’s Emma Rose provided assistance, with Stasinos’s Brinn Courtney standing by 
Pier 98 was empty on Monday, with only the containment boom remaining. On the right, GCS230 shortly after it was delivered in November 2022 
Genesis Valiant had its barge on the wire, loaded with European refined products lightered off a tanker in the Harbor over the weekend. They were heading for Philadelphia with the cargo after anchoring off Yonkers on Sunday. The USS Cooperstown, the Navy’s newest Littoral Combat Ship, was tied up at the south side of Pier 88 on Monday. Cooperstown is in town for their commissioning ceremony scheduled for Saturday. 
The Cooperstown was well guarded by armed sailors. 
The USCG’s 154’ Warren Deyampert arrived and tied up at the end of Pier 86, possibly also in town for the Cooperstown ceremony. Deyampert was just commissioned in March and is based in Boston.
A quartet of Reinauer ATBs were anchored in the North River Monday morning. Gracie, Curtis and Kristy Ann remained through the day but Dean only stayed for a few hours, heading for the Reinauer dock on the KvK and then the Bayonne IMTT. 
Further south, Kirby’s Denali remained anchored off 72nd Street 
Kimberly Poling came through early with a cargo heading for Albany 
Saint Emilion also had a cargo heading north 
After sundown, Vane’s Charleston returned from a New Haven run and headed for anchorage off Yonkers -
Weekend Washout
Tug/barge anchorages on the sheltered North River were in high demand Sunday after a weekend of steady drenching rain culminating in thunder storms. Recreational activity was virtually nil and even commercial traffic seemed light. Genesis Energy’s Valiant arrived in New York Harbor Friday from Philadelphia and anchored for a bit with a light barge off 125th Street. Valiant later returned to the Narrows where AIS data showed them doing a do-si-do with the tanker Pro Onyx, recently arrived from Rotterdam. When Valiant returned to the River on Saturday, the barge was clearly lower in the water, suggesting they had lightered an oil products cargo from the Onyx. Valiant went on to anchor off Yonkers for the balance of the weekend, and the ultimate destination for the cargo remains unknown.
Other arrivals on the River included a Dutch frigate, which spent the weekend tied up at Pier 90. The privately-owned Dutch clipper ship Stad Amsterdam is currently docked at South Street Seaport hosting a trade delegation, and possibly the visits are related.
Genesis Valiant was anchored off 125th Street Friday after arriving from Philadelphia 
Later, Valiant headed back to the narrows, passing Curtis Reinauer en route to anchor off Grant’s Tomb on one whistle 
Valiant returned the next day in the rain with her barge clearly having been loaded, seemingly having lightered a cargo of European oil products off the tanker Pro Onyx in the Narrows. 
The Dutch frigate HNLMS Holland was tied up on the north side of Pier 90. Holland is currently on a rotating assignment in the Dutch Caribbean islands and her visit to New York coincides with the Dutch clipper ship Stad Amsterdam hosting a trade delegation at South Street Seaport. 
Vane’s Elk River brought a bunkering barge to refuel the frigate 
Saint Emilion passed through Friday with a cargo heading for Albany 
And returned their lighter barge to the Harbor on Sunday 
Vane’s Fells Point had an oil products cargo heading for New Hamburg, keeping pace with Dann’s Treasure Coast with a light cement barge on the hip being returned to Lafarge in Ravenna Vane’s Fells Point returned to the Harbor Saturday with the barge light 
Timothy L Reinauer returned from a delivery to Albany Saturday morning 
A trio of Reinauer articulated tug-barge combinations, Gracie, Kristy Ann, and Curtis, were anchored in the North River Sunday morning, with Genesis Glory sitting a bit to their south 
Kimberly Poling anchored off 72nd for a few hours Sunday on the way back from an Albany run 
Janice Ann Reinauer returned from a run up to Providence and anchored off Edgewater for a few hours before heading to Kinder Morgan in Perth Amboy 
Norfolk Towing’s George Holland brought a hopper north to the Tilcon quarry in Clinton Point Saturday, supplementing the usual efforts of Buchanan 12 
MHT’s Nathan G headed north with hoppers on Sunday 
The DEP tanker Red Hook was servicing the North River sewage plant, collecting sludge for dewatering at the Hunts Point centrifuges 
Norwegian’s Prima left Pier 88 Sunday evening unassisted. Next stop: Bermuda. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
The Usual Suspects
The final week of April has seen very typical traffic on the North River, with perhaps a heavier than usual parade of military flights passing overhead. Temperatures have been unseasonably cool, with rain coming for the weekend.
Discovery Coast, seen heading north with cargo on Sunday, was returning with a light barge a little more than 24 hours later after making a delivery in Poughkeepsie. 
The small tanker Chandra B made a loop up the North River Tuesday en route to refueling boats in the Chelsea Piers Marina. 
Susan Rose arrived Tuesday with a light barge and headed for their usual anchorage off Yonkers. 
Kristy Ann returned to the harbor with a light barge Tuesday morning after an run up to Albany 
Another Reinauer ATB passed through at twilight Tuesday night 
Timothy Reinauer, launched in 1979, headed for Albany with cargo Wednesday afternoon 
A Vane Brothers tug had a cargo heading north Wednesday morning 
Vane’s Philadelphia anchored off 72nd Street with a loaded barge. Anchoring with loaded barges used to be rare, but we are seeing it more often this year for unknown reasons. 
Dann’s Diamond Coast returned to the Harbor for service on Tuesday after delivering a sugar barge to the Yonkers refinery 
On Thursday they were heading back their barge up in Yonkers. 
DonJon’s Emily Ann had a waste paper scow heading for Pratt Industries paper mill on the Arthur Kill, passing the Battery Wednesday. 
Emily Ann was ready to make another DSNY run on Thursday morning at Pier 99. 
Stasinos’s Brinn Courtney had a spud barge with a crane leaving the North River and entering the Upper Bay Wednesday morning 
Buchanan12 was making their usual run down from the Clinton Point quarry 
Jersey City’s fireboat ventured on to the River Thursday morning. 
Up above, a pair of C130s flew up the River festooned with what are called “invasion stripes”, a commemoration of the recognition symbol used by allied planes on D-Day in 1944. 
A Marine Viper attack helicopter flying up from Lakeland NJ on Thursday had no stripes. 
A Coast Guard Dolphin made a low altitude patrol up the River flying at the edges of its range from the Atlantic City base 
A cormorant kept watch on the Boat Basin on Monday ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized
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 