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Closing out a warm October
Halloween and All Saints Day have come and gone, and still temperatures continue to peak in the 60s. River traffic has been fairly typical, though we continue to watch for signs that the extreme levels of disruption in the northeast diesel markets is affecting tanker patterns. The cruise terminal continues to see departures of final sails of the season, with the Disney Magic heading south for the winter Monday. The ATB Beatrice anchored off 72nd Street departed, picked up a new cargo in Port Reading NJ, and headed for New Haven. The Saint Emilion remained at anchor for a third day though, seemingly having exchanged her recent boat yard perch for a new parking spot afloat.
One somewhat unusual move observed was the ATB Jeffrey S, formerly known as the Ellen S. Bouchard, heading upriver to the Albany Buckeye Terminal with what looked like a light barge and coming directly from Bridgeport. Light barges do not normally move upriver, though it is possible that the barge remained partially loaded after making a delivery in Bridgeport and will more fully unload in Albany. Another possibility is that the barge will load a cargo in Albany, perhaps ethanol or a refined oil product arriving by rail from somewhere else. Unusual traffic should be expected given the severe strains in the diesel market but, again, this could just reflect normal random variability rather than the current unusual market circumstances.
Jeffrey S., the former Ellen S. Bouchard, en route from Bridgeport to Albany with what looked like a light or partially loaded barge Disney Magic headed out on a its last run of the season from NYC on Monday, now heading for Bermuda and Puerto Rico, and then on to her winter cruising base in Galveston. The Moran tug which helped her leave is on her port, as is a J24 sailboat staying out of the way. 
A Vane Brothers bunkering barge left after refueling Magic, with its port fenders still in place and the crane it uses to feed the fuel line still elevated. 
After a couple of days off, the DonJon dredging crew was back at work Tuesday morning south of Pier 99. 
The small pusher tug Durham was running light up to Peekskill Tuesday morning. 
Dann Marine’s Treasure Coast had a light cement barge on the hip heading back to Lafarge’s Ravenna plant from the company’s cement depot in Flushing -
Last Sunday in October
The last Sunday in October brought clear skies, mild temperatures and light winds. River traffic was fairly typical, though there were a fair number of sailboats and pleasure craft heading north, likely to winter quarters as November approaches.
Centerline’s Beatrice remained anchored off 72nd Street for a second day 
As did Saint Emilion further north 
The DonJon dredge had Sunday off and was parked near Pier 99 CMT’s Helen with a load of what might be asphalt millings heading south, with Riverside Park in the background 
Buchanan’s Mister T had empty hoppers on the wire to be exchanged in Haverstraw Bay 
Kimberly Poling came through with a light barge just before sunset 
Norwegian Breakaway at Pier 88 on Sunday 
And later heading out on her last New England/Nova Scotia cruise before heading for the Caribbean in November, passing La Barca dinner boat at Pier 81 ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Back from the shop and atypical moves
Saint Emilion was anchored in the North River Saturday. Saint Emilion is a regular on the New York Harbor to Albany route, but has been absent for several months, a period coinciding with her being hauled out for maintenance at a Bayonne boat yard (as well-documented in August by the Tugster blog). Otherwise, Saturday was notable in that tug and barge activity was somewhat atypical in a couple of instances, which it is tempting to attribute to the significant stresses now being experienced in the diesel market right now, though perhaps it is just a product of normal random variation.
Saint Emilion back at home on the North River Saturday Vane Brothers Patuxent came south with a loaded looking barge after anchoring Friday north of the Bridge. Anchoring with loaded barges is somewhat unusual, as was Patuxent’s subsequent route. The tug and barge headed south out of the harbor and were signaling Baltimore as their destination. Its not typical for oil products loaded in New York to move south.
Patuxent heading for Baltimore after anchoring overnight on the River Meanwhile, the visitor from the Gulf who anchored here Friday, Copper Mountain, left the River and headed for the Cadell repair dock on the North Shore of Staten Island. Another tug arrived though, with the Beatrice (the former Rhea Bouchard), anchoring off 72nd Street. Beatrice has been recently working in Philadelphia and has only recently reentred service under Centerline’s flag after the dissolution of the Bouchard fleet according to tugboatinformation.com.
Centerline’s Beatrice anchored off 72nd Street Reinauer ATBs were on more typical missions Saturday, with the Haggerty Girls and the venerable Dace Reinauer, born the same year as me, bringing light barges south. But a smaller Reinauer boat, Jason Reinauer was bringing a loaded barge north on the hip as the sun set, which is also atypical in that Jason is not one of the big Reinauer ATBs we normally see on this route.
Haggerty Girls heading south 
And the older Dace Reinauer on a similar route 
Jason Reinauer with a barge on the hip heading north at sunset 
DonJon tugs were swapping loaded for light mud scows as dredging continues south of Pier 99 
A bunkering tug departed after visiting Norwegian Joy at the cruise terminal 
Joy continues to work the Bermuda route in October, before heading for the West Coast for the winter next month. She left Saturday afternoon, with the DonJon dredge in the foreground 
A Coast Guard Dolphin chopper was on patrol at just a few hundred feet above the River and at eye level with the top off the cliffs -
Out of town visitors
Friday brought clear skies but also a sharp drop in temperatures back down to more typical late October levels. The tugboat Copper Mountain anchored in the North River with an empty barge. This tug lists St. Louis as its hailing port, and it arrived here from the Gulf of Mexico this week. Another out of town tug, the Genesis Vigilant, passed up the North River heading upstate. Vigilant lists Houston as its home port and it was operating there as recently as early October. These visits may be related to oil product shortages in the northeast bringing cargos here from Gulf Coast refineries.
Copper Mountain, an out-of-town visitor, at anchor off 96th Street Another unfamiliar boat on the River Friday was the large and unusual looking yacht Asteria which made a loop up to the Bridge before docking at North Cove Marina downtown. Asteria was built as a salvage tug in 1970 and converted to an “expedition yacht” about 20 years ago. The vessel is capable of navigating in the Arctic and Antarctic, and was in Greenland as recently as August. The helicopter deck was crowded with shrink wrapped jet skis which are perhaps being dropped off somewhere for winter storage.
The expedition yacht Asteria on the River Friday 
Meanwhile, more familiar boats from DonJon’s dredging crew were at work Friday morning, adding back depth between Piers 98 and 99 ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Protecting navigation
Two Federal government boats with cranes were on the River Thursday, from different agencies but with similar missions. The Army Corps of Engineers Hayward patrols for obstructions to navigation on or near the surface, including large tree limbs and trunks. The Coast Guard’s Katherine Walker services buoys which mark the navigation channel for large ships moving north and south on the marine highway. At this time of the year, the regular standard buoys are swapped out for smaller winter buoys, less vulnerable to ice flows. The New York Times had a great article on this process back in 2015.
The Katherine Walker with standard buoys on deck, likely heading for winter storage 
The Hayward on patrol for navigation hazards Thursday Meanwhile, at the cruise terminal, the Holland-American line’s Rotterdam spent the night after arriving from Europe Wednesday en route to her winter territory in the Caribbean. By Thursday evening she was on her way, leaving without tugboat assist thanks to her variable pitch propellers.
The Rotterdam leaves Pier 88 on Thursday evening 
Dann Marine’s Discovery Coast headed north with a loaded tanker barge as the sun set behind Weehawken -
Burning off
The thick layer of haze that sat over New York from Sunday through Tuesday was finally burning off Wednesday afternoon. Temperatures were unseasonably warm, but with the sun setting before 6pm now for the rest of the winter, opportunities for photography are somewhat reduced. Tanker traffic remains heavy on the River, and the DonJon dredgers were back, this time working by the DSNY Pier 99 facility. Meanwhile, the crane that had been working at Pier 96 appears to have finished its business and made an early Wednesday departure. The Disney Magic was back at Pier 90, and Holland-American’s Rotterdam, its first time here in a while. Usually the H-A boats dock in Brooklyn, but Rotterdam was on a transit cruise, arriving in NYC from Europe on its way to take up its winter duties in the Caribbean.
The dredgers working in the fog Tuesday morning at Pier 99 
And maneuvering nearby as the fog lifted Wednesday 
Rotterdam arriving with sunrise Wednesday, pulling in south of Disney Magic 
Centerline tugs follow with a bunkering barge 
Which leaves lighter later in the morning 
Two Miller tugs removed the crane from Pier 96 just at sunrise Wednesday Dean Reinauer headed north with a loaded barge 
And Kristy Ann came south with an empty 
Pinuccia also had a loaded barge going north 
Buchanan12 was heading back for more crushed dolomite ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Send in the clouds
The string of perfect fall days came to an end on Sunday, with periodic rain and fog rolling in and lingering through Monday. The Dutch and Danish NATO frigates that had been sitting at Pier 88 headed back to sea Monday morning, perhaps to rejoin the brand new U.S. carrier Gerald Ford off Virginia Beach for more drills, or maybe to head back to Europe. In any case, the cruise terminal was empty Monday for the first time in some days. Tanker and cement barge traffic remained heavy, and a bulker arrived with a shipment of Brazilian sugar heading for Yonkers.
HDMS Peter Willemoes leaving Pier 88 in the Monday fog with help from Moran Towing 
HNMLS de Zeven Provincien was also on the way out 
Another pair of Moran tugs were returning from Yonkers were they helped a bulker from Brazil dock at the Domino Sugar plant 
Dean Reinauer killed some time Sunday, stemming the flood with a loaded barge off 72nd Street before heading north for Newburgh The Haggerty Girls and Janice Ann Reinauer anchored in the Monday fog south of the (invisible) bridge after returning from Albany. Janice Ann was on the move again soon to IMTT Bayonne for more cargo, but Haggerty Girls stayed put into the evening. 
Janice Ann heading for Bayonne 
A Haugland Group tug Miss Madeline brought a stone cargo down from the company’s Tomkins Cove port on Sunday 
Dann Marine’s Discovery Coast brought a light tanker barge back from Poughkeepsie Sunday 
Kirby’s Skip Jack was on a similar run from Albany 
Centerline had a bunkering barge leaving the cruise terminal Sunday 
American Petroleum’s Stephen B cut the Monday fog with a light barge coming back from Rensselaer heading for a Tottenville boat yard 
Coral Coast headed back to the Lafarge Ravenna plant with a light cement barge after visiting Lafarge’s Flushing and Brooklyn docks 
A crane was in position to assist repairs at the Hudson River Park’s kayak and canoe dock at the Pier 96 Boathouse -
Crisp and cool
Autumn colors and crisp conditions have continued into the weekend, though some rain is expected Sunday. Loaded tankers were heading north, probably mainly carrying heating oil, empty tankers, stone hoppers, and loaded cement barges came south, and leaf tours were also heading north.
The largest of the Hudson tour boats, the American Constitution, has finished its last Hudson cruise of the season and was heading for Baltimore to cruise the Chesapeake into November 
The Adirondack tacked into a southerly wind on Friday, heading back to its Chelsea Piers base 
NY Waterway had a full house for its Saturday leaf tour run up to Haverstraw Bay 
Vane Brothers Charleston had a cargo heading for the Buckeye terminal north of Newburgh 
Janice Ann Reinauer also was heading for Newburgh, but to the Global Terminal there 
Kimberly Poling was coming the other way with a light barge 
Sapphire Coast headed north light Friday 
And came back the other way with a loaded cement barge Saturday, heading for Lafarge’s Bayonne terminal 
Buchanan12 had heavily loaded hoppers on its daily dolomite run Friday 
A pair of Blackhawks from Lakehurst airbase in New Jersey made a loop up the River 
A Coast Guard Dolphin chopper patrolled on Friday 
Disney Magic continues to work the Bermuda route, and refueled with an unattended barge on Friday at Pier 90 The Ocean Insignia was next door at Pier 88, refueling with help from Cape Fear ahead of a cruise to New England and Montreal ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
NATO in New York
October continues to provide stunning clear cool days as autumnal colors push south. A trio of NATO frigates arrived in New York Thursday, two Dutch and one Danish, and took up residence on the south side of Pier 88 following participation in NATO exercises. Commercial traffic has remained rather light.
Dutch frigate arriving at Pier 88 Thursday morning The trio of NATO frigates tied up on the south side of the passenger terminal 
A massive Navy E-6B Mercury, a command and control plane that communicates with ballistic missile submarines, made a run up the Hudson Thursday afternoon as part of a big loop over the northeast 
US Coast Guard small harbor tug Wire was heading north up the river Thursday 
Dace Reinauer headed south on Wednesday with an empty barge 
Janice Ann Reinauer… 
…and Haggerty Girls were both anchored off 125th Street Wednesday afternoon. Janice Ann headed to Bayway for new cargo Thursday, but the Girls remained at anchor. 
Asphalt Sailor headed for sea Tuesday after delivering a cargo of asphalt from Curaçao to Albany, passing Buchanan12 on two whistles. 
A fisherman caught a 27” stripped bass north of the North River plant Wednesday. ©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Glorious weekend
Glorious fall conditions prevailed through the weekend with temperatures in the 60s and light winds. The leaf color line has finally moved down to New York City, with trees along the river looking fiery. River traffic was light, though there were many recreational boats heading north to see the colors.
A Dann Marine tug towed a light dry bulk barge back to Florida after unloading sugar at the Yonkers Domino refinery. 
A loaded Curtis-Poling barge headed north with a cargo, passing autumn colors on the Weehawken shoreline. 
Colleagues brought a light barge south 
Don Jon Marine muscled a loaded paper recycling scow out of the shed on Pier 99 
The DEP’s Hunts Point was trailed by a flock of seagulls as her screws brought up the menhaden Fall colors were increasingly evident in the woods surrounding the Englewood Cliffs monestary 
A Marine attack helicopter flew up the Hudson
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.
