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North River to North Fork
A trip out of town provides a fresh perspective on marine traffic heading into and out of the New York area and the port of New Haven. The bulker Dragonera was visible in the Sound on Friday off Greenport heading for anchorage outside of New Haven. Saturday saw the tanker MTM Mississippi heading in the other direction, signaling the Bahamas after discharging cargo from Canada in New Haven.
The bulker Dragonera heading for New Haven 
Tanker MTM Mississippi heading for Bahamas after unloading Canadian oil products in New Haven Fishing trawlers tied up in Greenport, NY 
Remembering the merchant mariners lost in WWII, Greenport NY 
End of the line for the LIRR Greenport scoot -
Wind and Wallboard
The offshore service vessel HOS Browning anchored in the North River ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. The Browning is hosting a drilling rig, visible on the deck, and will be doing survey work for Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind for wind farms in the New York Bight. See the recent article in MarineLog for more.
Patrice McAllister was also anchored near 72nd Street with her barge made up on the hip, offering an unusual view of the barge’s unoccupied notch from shore Friday evening. Further upriver, Barry Silverton remains anchored with what appears to be a fully loaded barge, making this a rather unusual stay. Rhea Bouchard, the other Centerline Logistics tug which had been anchored on the river this week, appears to be back at work, heading for Braintree.
Patrice Mcalister with her barge on the hip Late Thursday, a bulker came through heading for the wallboard plant in Buchanan, NY, the second cargo we have seen heading up there this summer. The bulker originated in Garrucha, Spain, a major gypsum export port, of course a key ingredient in wallboard. The Buchanan plant is, along with the Yonkers sugar refinery, one of two remaining receivers of bulk cargo in Westchester County. A couple of Moran tugs headed up ahead of the bulker to assist with docking.
Aruna Berk bringing a gypsum cargo to Buchanan 
Kimberly Turecamo will help with docking in Buchanan Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend.
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Return of the Knot Refined
Wednesday was another pleasant day with moderate temperatures and light winds out of the southeast. Knot Refined, the large sugar barge which we saw on its maiden voyage six weeks ago, was back on the river heading for Yonkers, propelled by the Ruby Coast. Dann Marine’s Charles A., who we saw Saturday coming south with a hopper, headed up to Yonkers to assist in docking.
Knot Refined heading for Yonkers 
Charles A heads up to assist The day began with the two ATBs belonging to Centerline Logistics still anchored on the river for a fourth day, as well as Evelyn Cutler anchored north of the bridge. By the end of the day, Centerline’s Rhea Bouchard had weighed anchor and headed down to near Ken’s Marine Services in Bayonne on the Kill Van Kull, while Evelyn Cutler had made a trip down to the Upper Bay (perhaps for bunkering?) and then returned to her original anchorage spot. Centerline’s Barry Silverton stayed put off Riverbank State Park.
Barry Silverton at anchor in the morning haze with Evelyn Cutler also visible off Inwood (see red arrow) 
Centerline’s Rhea Bouchard ends her residence and heads for Bayonne 
Evelyn Cutler heading back to her Inwood anchorage Evening Mist, a tug we have not seen before on the North River, came down from an old cement pier up in Catskill, New York with a hopper barge, made a stop at the old army pier in Bayonne and then headed for Cadell Dry Dock and Repair on Staten Island. According to tugboatinformation.com , the Mist, like the Rhea Bouchard, also formerly served the now-defunct Bouchard Towing Company and was recently purchased by Haugland Group, which also owns a dock area in Tomkins Cove up in Haverstraw Bay and Inwood Materials on Jamaica Bay. Things got a bit tight as the Mist stopped with its load for a bit mid-river as the Ruby Coast and Evelyn Cutler were coming through in opposite directions (see photo at top of the post).
Evening Mist moves through the morning mist with gravel hoppers A cruising yacht we have seen before, the Canadian flagged Nautoncall, passed by, apparently on the way to Croton-on-Hudson. The owners maintain a blog with a “where are we now map” though they have not posted any written updates since March.
Nautoncall enjoying the good life 
The DEP’s North River was on its eponymous river heading towards its eponymous sewage plant -
Moving cement
Tuesday brought sunny skies, pleasant summer temperatures and winds over 10 knots from the northeast. Dann Marine was busy moving cement barges for its client Lafarge while ATB traffic was typical. Carnival Magic was back in town, reloading at Pier 88 and then departing for another trip down to the Eastern Caribbean.
Magic was built as recently as 2011 but has fixed pitch propellers rather than pod propulsion and gets an assist when leaving the pier. John D. Moran did the honors again this week. The Rhea Bouchard and Barry Silverton remained anchored in the river for a third day.
Pearl Coast pushed a loaded cement barge down from Ravenna/Coeymans to Lafarge’s Bayonne terminal 
Sapphire Coast was moving an empty cement barge in the other direction, arriving from Providence and heading towards Ravenna/Coeymans 
Nicole Leigh Reinauer with an empty barge heading south 
Cardinal Magic at Pier 88 and leaving in the late afternoon 
A cormorant forcing down his breakfast 
A Coast Guard 45’ boat with a crowd on the aft deck 
The DEP’s Red Hook on its appointed rounds 
The Schuylkill pushed a barge upriver and anchored off Yonkers 
Buchanan12 brought its usual load down from the quarry, passing the anchored Rhea Bouchard 
Seaplanes are becoming a more common sight, with Blade now running shuttles to East Hampton in addition to the Tailwinds flights up to Boston. Planes take off in the East River, never from the North River 
A J80 under spinnaker heading downwind -
Rainy Monday
Monday brought rain and muggy conditions, keeping a damper on recreational activity. Commercial activity was light. Two ATBs belonging to Centerline Logistics Corporation were anchored in the river for a second day, with the Rhea Bouchard off 72nd Street and the Barry Silverton off Riverbank State Park. The Evelyn Cutler was anchored further up, north of the bridge.
Rhea Bouchard and her barge off 72nd Street 
Barry Silverton and barge anchored further upriver 
A cruising yacht heading north 
A Corps of Engineers tug heading downriver 
A DEP tanker hauling sludge Harbor Charlie on the move -
Stay cool
Blazing heat prevailed on Sunday, with light winds out of the south. Recreational activity was most notable early, while things were still cool. Commercial activity was typical for a Sunday. Another escorted swimmer came through in the morning, with its accompanying powerboat flying an “I” flag.
A swimmer (circled) with a kayak and powerboat escort. 
A standup paddle boarder dug in, passing a cormorant on a pier Outrigged canoes moved south, passing a cormorant drying its wings 
Carolina Coast came down light from the Yonkers sugar plant 
Saint Emilion headed for Albany with what was probably a partial loaded barge 
Overtaking Kimberly Poling with a heavy barge 
Norwegian Joy loaded up for a trip to Bermuda 
And was serviced by a bunkering barge 
Daisy Mae passed Weehawken enroute to Coeymans with dirt and gravel 
Buchanan12 had an unusually light load of just one hopper heading back to Clinton Point 
Another empty tanker barge heading south The tug Rhea Bouchard anchored off 72nd Street with an empty barge. The Bouchard Towing Company is out of business and the tug is owned under new ownership but apparently retains this name.
The tug Rhea Bouchard at anchor 
A sailboat running upriver in late afternoon 
Ruth Reinauer headed upriver, passing a mid-town bound ferry 
One of the last goslings off the season follows a parent -
The Jet Ski Invasion
Saturday was the annual Jet Ski Invasion, where 100s of personal watercraft gather and make a circuit of Manhattan, very enjoyable to the riders and a big noisy nuisance to pretty much everyone else who traverses or follows the North River. The “invasion” rounded the Battery after 11am and proceeded north.
The Jet Ski invasion arrives The invasion was escorted by Coast Guard, NYPD, and the FDNY, as well as fireboats from Jersey City, Hoboken, and North Hudson departments.
Hoboken Fire 
US Coast Guard 
Jersey City Fire 
FDNY 
NYPD Regular commercial traffic and ferry boats had to operate as usual, mostly maintaining course, occasionally leaning on the horn, and hoping that self-interest keeps the riders out of the way.
Dann Marine’s Charles A towed a large barge right through the flotilla The DEP’s Red Hook overtook the invasion, with plenty of horn and an escort from the Coast Guard for much of the way 
The Fort McHenry waited for the river to clear before leaving its bunkering job at Pier 88 
As did DonJon Marine’s DSNY recycling run to Staten Island 
The river was all clear by the time Buchanan12 headed back to Clinton Point at the end of the day A Canadian Forces coastal defense vessel, the HMCS Moncton, is visiting New York wearing commemorative World War II style anti-submarine camouflage. She was bunkered by the Vane Brothers tug Fort McHenry in the morning.
HMCS Moncton tied up on the south side of Pier 88 
Moncton being refueled ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Air traffic
Rain held off for most of the day Thursday, with relatively cool temperatures prevailing. River traffic was typical, with a few large sailing vessels noted, while military traffic over the river was noted.
The Hayward looking for navigational hazards 
The Evelyn Cutler pushed a loaded fuel barge upriver, passing the Hayward 
Saint Emilion left its anchorage off Yonkers and headed to Cateret to pick up a new cargo 
Emily Ann brought empty hoppers back to the DonJon base in Newark 
A Coast Guard response boat on the river 
A two-masted schooner sailing downriver 
Another brig, the Shearwater based at the Brookfield Place Marina, passed Battery Park City 
Marine Viper attack helicopters flew past the Financial District 
A trio of Blackhawks came down the river from Stewart Airbase in Newburgh, made a few loops around the Statue of Liberty, and then headed back A Tailwind seaplane, likely returning from Boston, came down the Hudson to loop around the Battery and land in the East River ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
City boats
Cool temperatures and cloudy skies prevailed on the second official day of summer, with rain arriving in the late afternoon. Observed commercial traffic was light but government owned boats were more prevalent.
Buchanan12, observed back on the Clinton Point run yesterday after a hiatus, came through with a load of quarry output headed for the Greenville moorings in the morning, and came back with empties at the end of the day after also paying a visit to the Lafarge Brooklyn dock. 
Coral Coast made a slow loop up the river with an empty cement barge but then returned to the Lafarge Bayonne terminal 
An NYPD 45’ boat headed for the GW Bridge, overtaking the DEP’s Red Hook tanker on its way to the North River sewage plant 
The NYPD was followed by another official looking boat… 
…and then by a Coast Guard response boat… 
…and then by Marine One’s large fireboat… 
…and then by the NYC DEP’s water quality sampling vessel the Osprey. What were they all doing up there? -
Moving rocks
The first day of astronomical summer brought pleasant temperatures in the 70s and light winds, but a line of rain storms was heading in by the end of the day. Commercial traffic remained light and dominated by bulk cargos while sailors reported dolphins sighted in the river. The Benjamin Franklin Reinauer left its anchorage off 72nd Street around midnight and headed down to the Upper Bay to drop anchor there.
Brinn Courtney has been making runs down from Tompkins Cove north of Haverstraw down to the Inwood Materials dock off Jamaica Bay near JFK. The Tompkins Cove quarry has been closed for years but perhaps this area is being used to transfer hoppers of material quarried elsewhere. UPDATE: It turns out Haugland Corporation, which owns Inwood Materials Terminal, has also purchased a riverfront property in Tompkins Cove and appear to be using this to transfer cargo to Inwood. Meanwhile, Buchanan12 was back on the Clinton Point quarry run after some time out of service.
Brinn Courtney heading for Jamaica Bay with a load of gravel 
Buchanan12 was back on the Clinton Point run, moving empties north past the Battery
Photo Credit: L. Katzive
The venerable Dace Reinauer, built in 1968, brought an empty barge down from Albany. 
A stand-up paddle boarder we have seen before was fighting the ebb tide passing Pier i on her trip up from Pier 84
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 