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Mean reversion weekend
The run of unseasonably warm temperatures finally came to an end over the weekend, with the mercury dropping into the 30’s and 40’s. Winds were light though and skies increasingly clear by Sunday. Commercial traffic has been light, with tanker cargos seemingly absent during daylight hours—perhaps the warm temperatures have reduced demand for heating oil up north. Cement barges have been active, perhaps also a symptom of the warmer winter.
Buchanan12 pushed empties north on Friday at sundown. B12 has not been observed on this blog since mid-December, perhaps the quarry had a holiday shutdown or else the rock was moving in the dark and fog and eluding photos 
What goes up must come down. On Saturday, Buchanan12 was heading south again with crushed stone quarried at Clinton Point 
Stasinos’s Brinn Courtney travelled light heading north on Friday 
DonJon Marine was working the DSNY Pier 99 facility on Friday, hauling paper to the Pratt Industries mill on the Arthur Kill in Staten Island 
Genesis Vigilant anchored off 72n Street on Saturday with a rusty tanker barge about three times the length of the tug. 
B. Franklin Reinauer had the only oil products cargo observed this weekend heading north for Albany on Sunday, shown here as the DEP’s Port Richmond sludge tanker overtakes on one whistle. 
The Port Richmond is one of the new 2014 generation of tankers, designed for harbor work. 
CMT’s Daisy Mae had gravel and a deck barge with an excavator coming down from Coeymans and heading for Bayonne and then Newtown Creek 
Dann Marine’s Coral Coast pushed an empty cement barge from the College Point Queens terminal back towards the Ravenna Lafarge plant on Saturday 
Dann’s Sapphire Coast was moving the other direction Sunday morning, pushing a loaded cement barge past the Norwegian Getaway, on the way around the Battery, through Hell Gate an onwards towards New England via the Sound 
Norwegian Getaway got refueled Sunday with help from Vane’s Cape Fear and a bunkering barge. Getaway later sailed for the Caribbean, probably the first departure from the Manhattan terminal this year. 
One of the Coast Guard’s Staten Island-based 29’ boats patrolled on Saturday 
And so did a NYPD 35 footer 
New Jersey State Police keeps on a boat on the River as well. Local police departments on the Jersey side do not, though Union County Police have a boat based on the Arthur Kill. 
Kayakers and paddle boarders were out Sunday morning despite sub 40 temperatures A view from Riverbank State Park atop the North River pollution control (i.e. sewage) plant late afternoon Sunday shows a flat river as light winds move in the same direction as the ebb tide 
If you zoom, you can see three tanker barges and a sugar barge anchored off Yonkers and, of course, the Little Red Lighthouse. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Hazards to navigation
Damp and fog continues to linger over New York City as temperatures remain unseasonably warm. Storms up north appear to have produced a lot of debris in the River, the larger pieces of which the Army Corps of Engineers has been busy cleaning up. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard’s ice breakers are less busy, though the Sturgeon Bay did leave its dock in Bayonne and headed for Albany Thursday. Commercial traffic was light on Thursday.
The Corp of Engineers boat Hayward fished a large tree limb or tree trunk out of the River as Dann Marine’s Treasure Coast pushed an empty cement barge north, heading for the Lafarge plant in Ravenna NY. 
The Hayward had to make several trips to collect all the hazards, with a pile of lumber visible on the deck in this photo. 
Another Corps boat, the Moritz, also made a loop up the River. 
The diminutive Kenny G and another Sound Marine work boat brought a deck barge with what looked like parts for marina pilings (note Marine Guard stenciled on the black cylinders). They were coming from the Sound Marine base at the North River boat yard in Nyack and heading for Red Hook. 
The Rockaway DEP tanker, one of the newest generation vessels in the fleet, was working the North River plant Thursday, ferrying sludge to Wards Island for dewatering. 
An NYPD 35’ boat was patrolling the River -
Weather records
January 4 brought sunny skies and warm temperatures, with at least one location in the New York area recording record highs in the 60s.The River is a source of coldness this time of year, and a layer of mist lingered above the water for most of the day before some light rain arrived with sunset.
Commercial traffic was light but there were some less frequently seen vessels in evidence. Traffic to and from Westchester was also a notable feature: a pair of Moran tugs were seen heading to Buchanan, very likely to assist with the departure of the bulker Belfriend which has been unloading a cargo of Spanish gypsum at the wallboard factory there, and Dann Marine’s East Coast was towing a light sugar barge south from the Yonkers Domino plant back towards Florida after unloading there. The wallboard plant and sugar refinery are the only businesses receiving bulk cargos on the Hudson in Westchester County these days, while the Peekskill fuel depot also occasionally receives a tanker barge delivery. The bulker Belfriend seems likely to slip by Manhattan after dark.
City Cruises’ Celestial, built in the style of the Parisian bateaux mouche and normally only seen on the River at dinner hour, was cutting the early morning mist on a non-revenue run up to the North River Boatyard in Nyack for repairs. 
NY Waterway’s Edgewater ferry passed in similar hazy conditions 
Dann Marine’s Captain Willie Landers had a Lockwood Marine deck barge heading for Albany 
Their Dann colleagues on the Calusa Coast pushed a tanker barge south from the Yonkers anchorage to a pier in Red Hook. Calusa may have been up in Yonkers with this barge since she passed heading up there before Christmas. 
Dann’s East Coast had the sugar barge Jonathan on the wire, heading back to Florida on the ebb tide after unloading at the Yonkers Domino plant. 
Vane’s Fort McHenry, more often seen delivering bunkering barges to the cruise terminal, had a tanker barge cargo heading north 
Kimberly Turecamo passed Englewood Cliffs heading for Buchanan to assist the bulker Belfriend leaving the wallboard plant there. Kimberly was followed by the Mary J. Turecamo 
The DEP’s 2008 vintage Red Hook tanker, the second oldest in the fleet, was heading to the North River plant to load sludge for dewatering at Hunts Point 
The Corps of Engineers tug Gelberman was on patrol, making a loop up to the GWB after making a survey of the East River up to Throgs Neck 
An NYPD 45’ launch came up the River from the Sunset Park base, made a loop and then headed for Erie Basin. 
This NY Air National Guard Pave Hawk chopper (Air Force search and rescue version of the Blackhawk) flew up the River from its base at Grabeski airport in West Hampton with a trooper’s boots visible hanging out the door. 
A Metro-North “maxi-bomb” train bound for Grand Central with the locomotive pushing approached Spuyten Duyvil. A maxi-bomb is a diesel plus 7 Bombardier coaches. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Welcome to 2023!
UPDATED: Post updated to reflect that Treasury Coast was heading for Yonkers Domino plant to assist East Coast with departure of barge Jonathan rather than the cement plant in Ravenna.
A return to the River after a 10 day absence found conditions somewhat improved from the frigid temperatures prevailing before Christmas, but light commercial traffic and a blanket of fog sitting over the city were not conducive to photography. Observed vessels were mainly North River regulars, though the cargo ship BBC Aralia did slip by unobserved at midday. Her colleagues on BBC Topaz arrived at Port of Albany earlier in the morning carrying equipment for the Plug Power hydrogen cell plant which opened near there earlier this year. Perhaps Aralia has similar cargo.
Dean Reinauer heading north in the morning fog 
Kimberly Poling passed with a cargo before sundown but was nearly invisible from Dock A at the Boat Basin 
Treasure Coast was moving light up river to assist with departure of a sugar barge from the Yonkers Domino plant Port of Albany welcomed a BBC cargo ship Tuesday, and a second BBC vessel passed New York on the way 
The sludge tanker North River, dean of the DEP fleet, was heading for its eponymous plant to pick up product 
This looked like an NYPD or Coast Guard fast boat but it was unmarked The pre-war towers of Riverside Park loomed above the dolphins protecting A Dock at the Boat Basin 
A line of debris in Riverside Park South still marks the extent of the pre-Christmas super high tide The holiday period itself was characterized by big swings in temperatures, ranging from the single digits to the fifties. Fire was a notable theme as well on the River and in the Harbor: after the FDNY’s marine units saw action on December 14 fighting a warehouse fire in Erie Basin, the Staten Island ferry Sandy Ground suffered an engine room fire on December 22 on the Upper Bay. Tugs from CMT and Stasinos Marine helped hold the ferry in place as the 600 passengers were evacuated onto NY Waterway and NYC Ferry vessels. More recently, a tug suffered an engine room fire on the River between Catskill and Hudson on New Year’s Day. According to a Facebook post from the Catskill Fire Department, local marine units extinguished the fire. The fire department did not identify the tug, but the photos seem to show a CMT tug, with the Kimberly Poling providing assistance. Luckily, none of these three emergencies occurred on a day with extremely frigid temperatures.
©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Coastal flooding and plunging temperatures
High tide brought serious coastal flooding to New York Harbor Friday morning, with reports indicating neighborhoods on Jamaica Bay seeing their worst inundations since Sandy. Impact on the Hudson was much less dramatic, though high tide was still visibly above normal and some areas of Riverside Park South and Hudson River Park saw water where it does not normally reach. Flood waters receded with the ebb tide by 11am, but then gale warnings went into effect as winds picked up and a storm came through from the southwest, bringing heavy rain and even a bit of snow, with winds gusting to over 40 MPH. Temperatures are set to plunge sharply as we move into evening, falling into teens from over 50 in the morning. The North River anchorages were crowded Friday morning, but traffic continued to move through the rough afternoon conditions.
HOS Browning, a survey ship involved in wind turbine work offshore, remained anchored off 72nd and may be intending to remain through the Christmas weekend, as she did over July 4th weekend. There were two Norwegian cruise ships at the cruise terminal Friday, with Gem seemingly having delayed her departure for the Caribbean after arriving from Europe the day before, and Getaway scheduled to leave Friday night.
This will be the final installment of North River Notes for 2022. Best wishes to all for a happy end to the year!
High water Friday morning 
HOS Browning anchored off 72nd Street 
Adeline Marie and Timothy Reinauer at anchor Friday morning 
Dylan Cooper was further south 
And Grace Reinauer further south still 
Adeline Marie was on her way later in the morning, but then turned around and came back to anchor in the River again 
Dylan Cooper left later, as visibility deteriorated, and headed for Port Reading 
Saint Emilion was heading for Albany with a cargo during a break in the weather 
Dace Reinauer was heading back up to Albany with cargo as well, passing the DEP’s Red Hook sludge tanker on one whistle as the southerly wind ran against the ebb tide, kicking up white caps 
Marie J Turecamo was in position behind the tanker barge at the Con Ed steam plant fuel pier, Pier 98, for unknown reasons. She later left light, without the barge. 
Centerline’s Lightning had no difficulty bunkering Norwegian Getaway as the rising tide lifts all boats. Getaway had a derrick hoisting one of her small boats back up at the same time. 
A DonJon tug brought hoppers full of scrap metal south into the wind Friday afternoon ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Beginning to feel a lot like…
The week before Christmas and the arrival of astronomically defined winter saw clear and cold conditions giving way to heavy rain at the end of the week. Tanker barges remained active, and by the end of the week some less familiar vessels arrived.
Tuesday saw a Coast Guard 29’ boat heading for the bridge… 
Followed by North Hudson Fire Rescue’s marine unit with a team on the back deck, perhaps doing drills up by the Bridge 
One of the Coast Guard’s Bayonne-based 65’ harbor tugs was also operating up by the Bridge, and headed for base later 
An NYPD large boat was heading for the Bridge on Thursday 
Vane’s Charleston brought an empty barge south on Tuesday morning 
Pinuccia had a loaded barge heading north Tuesday 
And returned lighter on Wednesday 
The venerable 1968 vintage Dace Reinauer, upgraded with ATB hardware, anchored overnight off 79th Street after returning from Albany before heading for the harbor 
DonJon Marine kept the paper moving out of the DSNY’s Pier 99 facility on Wednesday 
HOS Browning, the offshore vessel that has been doing wind farm related survey work in the New York Bight, was back on the River for the first time since July, anchored off 72nd Street. Browning spent 4th of July weekend on the River and perhaps has similar plans for Christmas, or else just looking to get out of the rain for the next few days. 
Adeline Marie arrived with a light barge and anchored off Harlem after returning from Providence. 
Don Jon had hat looked like some type of tanker barge by the cruise port on Thursday, an unusual location and towing company for this type of barge. 
Dann’s Calusa Coast, not seen before on this blog and normally Chesapeake Bay-based, arrived Thursday with a light tanker barge and headed for Yonkers anchorage. 
MHT’s Sara D headed north with a hopper barge Thursday -
Sunday drivers
Sunny skies prevailed Sunday but the temperature held below 40. Three tugs and tanker barges had accumulated in the River overnight, though Patrice McCalister was on her way by 9am.
Josephine Reinauer and Jeffrey S at anchor Sunday morning south of the Bridge 
Patrice McAlister left her anchorage, traveling with RCM 262 on the hip as this tug always seems to when its barge is light, and headed to the Arthur Kill for new cargo. 
For a second day in a row, Everly Mist was making an early run bringing what looked like dirt fill down from Tomkins Cove to the Newark Bay side of Bayonne. 
Kayakers and SUPers were on the River again in the morning despite the cold, surprisingly far out in the channel 
Centerline tugs brought a bunkering barge to refuel Norwegian Getaway which is making runs to Bermuda and the Caribbean from New York this winter. 
For a second day in a row a Marine Super Stallion helicopter made a trip up the river with markings of Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772 based at McGuire AFB in New Jersey. 
A red tail hawk also put in an appearance ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Winter sports
The rain cleared Saturday and temperatures climbed into the 40s with winds around 15 knots. HRCS had its J24s on the water, and a group of kayakers was also seen in the midday sun. Patrice McCalister anchored off 96th Street in the rain on Friday, and remained Saturday morning with her barge on the hip, her usual configuration when the barge is unloaded. Saint Emilion returned from Albany Friday night and appeared to have handed off its barge to Copper Mountain, which came up from Caddell’s dry dock and anchored with the barge about half a mile north of Patrice, remaining there Saturday. Tanker barge traffic Saturday was heavy, but was mainly empties moving south, while some stone hoppers were also seen heading south.
Patrice McCalister with RCM262 on the hip at anchor showing off its notch 
Copper Mountain and barge at anchor a bit further north 
Brinn Courtney brought a load of stone down from Tomkins Cove 
Everly Mist brought what looked like dirt down from up north 
Jordan Rose left anchorage off Yonkers and headed out of town, passing south along the Jersey Shore by evening 
Evelyn Cutler came down from Albany and headed to Bayonne IMTT for new cargo 
Curtis Reinauer, seen less frequently on the North River, came down from Albany and headed for the Upper Bay to anchor 
DonJon’s Brian Nicholas serviced the DSNY pier and headed for Staten Island 
A 29’ Coast Guard boat was on patrol, following a Dolphin chopper overhead 
A Marine Viper attack helicopter looped up the River 
Escorted by a larger helicopter, maybe a Huey, as we have seen in the past 
A big Navy Sikorsky chopper also passed south on the River 
Warmly dressed sailors were out on a J24 
And kayakers put in an appearance with a stand-up paddle border ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Storm arrives
Small craft advisory was in effect this afternoon as a big storm system moves through and a gale warning kicks in tonight as winds build. By 5pm, winds were gusting up to 20 MPH out of the northeast. Traffic was moderate ahead of the storm and a couple of tugs have sought the sheltered anchorages off Yonkers. Something brought police boats to the Bridge in the morning, followed by the big Three Forty Three fireboat and it is not very pleasant to speculate about what that might be.
Buchanan12 came through early Thursday with a large lash up, having made the run down from Tilcon Clinton Point overnight 
Kristin Polling anchored overnight off 79th Street 
Jordan Rose brought an empty barge up from the Upper Bay… 
And passed Kristin Poling and her barge, heading for anchorage off Yonkers 
NY Marine Highway’s Nathan G brought an empty hopper with another MHT tug which looked like Maddie K although she was not on AIS, heading north. 
Cape Fear came back, seemingly from Kingston, with an empty barge 
Red Hook was servicing the North River Plant before the storm hit 
Emily Ann got the recycling out at Pier 99 ahead of the weather 
A NYS DEC police boat headed for the Bridge Thursday morning 
Followed by a large NYPD launch 
And then a USCG 29’ response boat 
Where they met a Westchester County Police boat, Source: MarineTraffic 
Later, the Three Forty Three boat was in the area. 
And the Corps’ Hayward made one of its usual patrols ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Weather coming
Tuesday and Wednesday have been clear and cold in New York, with morning temperatures below freezing, but weather is coming, with warmer temperatures and rain arriving Thursday. Observed traffic has been lighter after the Monday rush, with some hopper traffic of note. Adeline Marie, who anchors frequently in the River but rarely seems to move cargo north, left her spot off 79th Street Tuesday night, loaded new cargo at the Buckeye Port Reading terminal, and was heading for New Haven by Wednesday evening.
Away from the North River, the big maritime news in the harbor was the large fire in an NYPD warehouse on the pier protecting the Erie Basin in Red Hook. The FDNY has two large fireboats who do not seem to get much action—the typical boat fires we see have been handled by the department’s medium size and small boats, with their greater speed and smaller draft. Pier fires used to be much more common in New York and the FDNY used to have an additional large fireboat based at the Battery, but Tuesday’s fire on a pier needing large volumes of water and approachable by a 9’ draft boat seems to have been exactly what these big boats are built for. Both the Three Forty Three boat based in Chelsea and the Fire Fighter II boat based in Stapleton were on the scene Tuesday. By Wednesday, there were no longer any Marine units showing up there on AIS. The barge port in the basin does not appear to have been impacted.
FDNY 343 and Fire Fighter II attacked the warehouse fire on Tuesday, along with Bravest, a shallow draft medium sized boat based in the Navy Yard. Source: Marine Traffic Left photo shows the Fire Fighter II boat in action. Source: Twitter ‘@FDNY 
DonJon’s Sarah Ann pushed a pair of hoppers north Wednesday morning, perhaps to pick up a load of scrap 
Everly Mist was pushing hoppers up towards the quarry dock in Catskill, NY 
NYPD’s large boat 621 was not observed at the fire Tuesday, but she did stop by the smoldering warehouse Wednesday, then looped up the Hudson before returning to the NYPD base at the Sunset Park Army Terminal 
Saint Emilion, another tug which seems to anchor in the River now more than navigate north on it, left its Yonkers anchorage and travelled to Kinder Morgan terminal in Linden 
Evelyn Cutler paused off the 145th Street North River plant on the way down from Albany, seen here at a distance of about four miles 
And then proceeded to kill the rest of the day on the Upper Bay 
The Army Corps’ Gelberman made a look up the River
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 