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Busy and breezy
The bulker Peristil came down the river just before sundown on Sunday evening, riding high with her rudder visible after having unloaded a cargo in Albany. Before Albany, Peristil had loaded in northern Chile, making it likely that road salt was what she brought with her. The Peristil anchored in the harbor overnight and was met by a bunkering tug, and then sailed out Monday morning, signaling Gramercy, near New Orleans as her destination where she will likely load a new cargo for export overseas.
Peristil leaves town light Monday morning saw a fairly crowded river, with four tugs at anchor, including the long-term resident Teresa, the Saint Emilion, and the Ruth and Dean Reinauer AT/B combinations. By late morning, Saint Emilion was on her way to load new cargos in the Arthur Kill and Port Newark.
Four tugs at anchor at Monday morning slack tide 
Saint Emilion heads out to collect new cargo Something drew a number of Coast Guard and law enforcement boats up towards the bridge during the morning as well, and a Westchester County police boat also travelled down to there as well.
Coast Guard small harbor tug Hawser and a fast boat head for the bridge 
Followed by an NYPD launch 
And a boat from NYS Environmental Conservation Police 
Later, a Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter also flew up the river Christian Reinauer returned from Providence, dropped its barge on Staten Island and then headed upriver towards Albany, perhaps for an overhaul of some sort.
Christian Reinauer lonely without its barge heading for Albany 
Buchanan12 headed back to the Point Clinton Quarry with empty hoppers as Riverside Park flags show the stiff 10-15 MPH west wind 
Donjon Marine towed a large crane north as a cormorant flew south in the foreground -
Importing cement
A short trip away from the North River found the Panama-flagged NACC New Yorker unloading cement at the McInnis Cement depot in Oak Point in the Bronx, on the northeastern end of the East River before it becomes Long Island Sound. McInnis manufactures cement at a plant on the end of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec, near limestone quarries it also owns there. The cement is brought to US ports for distribution in foreign flagged vessels like this one, which are not typically seen on the North River. In contrast, Lafarge Cement manufactures from a large plant up the Hudson in Ravenna, New York, and sends the product to market in New York City on Jones Act compliant U.S. flagged barges and tugs provided by Dann Marine. Those barges can frequently be seen passing through.
NACC New Yorker unloads cement at Oak Point in the Bronx 
Another view of the New Yorker at Oak Point Meanwhile, cooler temperatures and blustery winds saw relatively little activity on the North River Sunday. The Norwegian Gem made its usual Sunday morning arrival and mid-afternoon departure from Pier 88 and is now heading back to San Juan. The Ruth Reinauer dropped anchor a bit north of the long-term resident Teresa.
Unico Teresa and Ruth Reinauer at anchor with their barges -
Burning off the fog
Saturday morning started out in dense fog once again, but the haze had burned off by late morning, giving way to a sunny and warm afternoon. Air temperatures rose into the 60s, but the water remains cold in the mid 40s range.
The long-term resident Teresa looms at its anchorage in the fog 
A flotilla of kayakers and SUPers 
Mr. Jim comes down from Coeymans with empty hoppers The tugboat Frances headed upstate with an empty scow. According to tugboatinfo.com http://www.tug44.org/tugboats.trawlers/tug-frances/ , Frances is a veteran, built in 1959 and currently operated by Marine Highway of Troy NY. Long may you run!
The venerable Frances heads north with a scow A Coast Guard boat was in the river in the afternoon and appeared to be conducting some type of drill with a life ring in the water. The Coast Guard refers to all its vessels smaller than 65’ in length as “boats”, as opposed to “cutters”, which are over 65’ in length.
Coast Guard boat retrieves a life ring 
Morgan Reinauer pushed for Albany with a barge loaded in Cateret -
Later daylight
Daylight savings time means more opportunity to observe traffic late in the day on the river. Tuesday saw Buchanan12 pushing a float of empty hoppers at slack tide heading back up to the Tilcon quarry at Clinton Point. In the photo, the FDNY’s 27’ Marine 1a small boat passes heading downriver towards its Chelsea headquarters.
FDNY’s Marine 1a passes Buchanan12 heading back to quarry for more rocks An NYPD launch was also in the vicinity at this time.
NYPD patrol boat Slack tide saw the ever-present Teresa and the Bert Reinauer facing different directions ahead of sundown.
Teresa and Bert swing differently at slack tide Fort Schuyler came through with an empty barge, returning from a delivery to the fuel depot at New Hamburg NY.
Fort Schuyler with an empty oil can -
Back to the 80s
Away from the river for a bit so its time for a throwback to the late 1980s. Here the old Cunard QE2 leaves Pier 88 with some help from Margaret Moran. Built in the 1960s, this version of the QE2 had the lines more of an old ocean liner than a modern cruise ship. She crossed the Atlantic for many years and served as a troop carrier in the Falklands War, coming back renovated and with a new paint job.
Margaret Moran helps QE2 leave Pier 88 in the late 1980s. This QE2 has been out of service now since 2008 and has been converted to a floating hotel in Dubai. Margaret Moran, on the other hand, continues to work in New York Harbor. Built in 1979 (see http://www.tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=582 ), Margaret is currently in Port of Elizabeth helping the container ship MSC Susanna arriving from Israel to dock according to MarineTraffic. Margaret rarely visits Pier 88 now, as modern cruise ships can leave their docks without assists, maneuvering with propellers on pods that can rotate or face perpendicularly to the bow, but the container port provides plenty of work.
Margaret Moran helping a container ship to dock this morning in Elizabeth. Source: MarineTraffic -
Drying out
Clearer skies and warmer weather arrived Thursday, and so did Norwegian Gem, returning from the Caribbean. A Vane Brothers tug arrived with a fuel barge for bunkering, and then the Gem was on her way again by sundown, heading back towards San Juan.
Vane Brothers prepares to refuel the Norwegian Gem 
Heading back out to sea in the afternoon haze The tugboat Frances came through from Albany, heading for Tottenville.
Mackenzie Rose which, like Mister Jim, is owned by the Port of Coeymans (Coeymans Marine Towing), was on the way back home pushing a number of barges against the ebb tide, one of which appeared to be loaded with dirt or excavated fill. She was overtaken by Kimberly Polling returning from New Haven with an empty barge. The Kimberly would go on to anchor further up the river, a bit north of the Teresa. A Waterway ferry leaving Port Imperial maneuvered to pass behind the barges.
Janice Ann Reinauer came through with a barge loaded at the Bayway Refinery in Linden heading for Albany.
Sunset over Weehawken -
What goes up must come down
Snow, sleet and fog kept river traffic low on Wednesday. The bulker Nordic Skagen, which passed us Monday heading up to the Port of Coeymans, came through again on the way out of town, periodically blasting its horn in low visability. There was no obvious change in draft between arrival and departure, though presumably she loaded some cargo up there, perhaps scrap metal. AIS is not yet indicating her next destination.
Nordic Skagen heading downriver on Wednesday 
The Skagen heading for Coeymans on Monday -
Windy and clear
Windy conditions persisted Tuesday, and a number of tugs with empty barges were laid up in North River anchorages in the morning before heading out in the afternoon.
Mister Jim came through with an empty hopper on the way down from Coeymans, passing an anchored Rubia and a Vane Brothers tug pushing upriver with a loaded barge.
An other V22 Osprey flew up the river, originating at Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland. A Marine King Stallion helicopter also made a loop up the river.
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Balmy Monday
Monday brought balmy temperatures, but rain was heading our way by sundown.
Christian Reinauer came through in the morning, returning from Newburgh and heading to the Chevron Asphalt plant in Perth Amboy for a new cargo 
The view from the bridge. Dace Reinauer is at anchor in the foreground, and Teresa is few miles further south. North River water treatment plant is on the left, Edgewater Marina on the right 
Brant (not Canada geese!) were in evidence in the river around 100th Street 
USCG Cutter Line, a 65 foot small harbor tug, was anchored to a mooring near Washington Heights. Visible in the background is Edgewater Colony, the only neighborhood of detached single family homes on the North River 
Kristin Poling returned from New London, made a loop up the river, and then anchored off Staten Island. Here she passes Buchanan12, fighting an ebb tide on its way back to upstate quarries just after a first rain squall came through. 
A structural fire in Jersey City sent a plume of smoke over Weehawken -
Bulking up
Sunday morning brought rain, warm temperatures and the first bulker we have seen on the river for a while, with the Nordic Skagen coming through heading for the Port of Coeymans, perhaps picking up scrap metal up there.
Nordic Skagen heads for Port of Coeymans Mister Jim was also heading back to Coeymans with a group of gondola barges lashed together.
Mister Jim heads home to Coeymans A small keel boat, looking like a 15’ Bulls Eye, braved the rain with two on board.
A small sailboat braves the rain Dean Reinauer moved up river with a loaded barge. Dace Reinauer was anchored further up the river, about two miles north of the Teresa which has now been here at least four weeks and counting.
Dean Reinauer pushes a load upriver Norwegian Getaway was back at Pier 88 in the morning but was already gone by sundown, heading back out on its next weekly cruise down to the Bahamas. Norwegian continues to be the only line using the terminal this winter, with the Getaway switching off with the Gem which has been making runs down to the Caribbean.
Norwegian Getaway at Pier 88 with Con Ed’s Pier 98 in the foreground
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 