Category: Uncategorized
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Mystery pollutant
Beautiful weather extended into the weekend, but serenity on the River was somewhat marred Friday afternoon by a strange armada of white cubes which travelled up the estuary on the flood tide. At a distance this appeared to be a huge collection of styrofoam floating in, but on closer examination the cubes were made up…
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And the days go by…
A clear and slightly cooler week has followed the weekend rain. Busy times on land and shorter days means less chance to get on the River and watch the traffic. Vessels observed in recent days were all North River regulars.
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Gridlock alert
Activity on the River remains rather light as we start the week with clearing skies and hotter temperatures. The cruise terminal remains busy, however, with the Norwegian Getaway arriving and dredging operations continuing. The Lincoln Sea with her very large barge remains anchored off 72nd Street going on one week now, implying some special extended…
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Weekend update and a somber anniversary
The weekend passed with pleasant but hot weather on Friday and Saturday followed by rain without thunder on Sunday. Commercial activity picked up Sunday evening but was otherwise light. The cruise terminal was busy though, with Carnival Magic in on Friday, three boats visiting Saturday and a final Royal Norwegian boat here on Sunday, with…
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Dredge baby, dredge
In perhaps another sign that summer is drawing to a close and the heavy August flow of cruise ships into New York is set to abate, the dredgers were back at work at Pier 88 Thursday. A smaller cruise ship did arrive Thursday morning, however. With Pier 88 out of action, the Seven Seas Navigator…
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Brooklyn Break
A day away from the North River and visiting Brooklyn provided a bit of a different perspective on activity in New York Harbor. While parks and recreation have also come to dominate much of the Brooklyn waterfront, there are still pockets of commercial and industrial activity, much more so than we see along the Hudson…
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Back to work, in the rain
The end of the long weekend and the first unofficial (non-astronomical) day of autumn brought soaking rains to the region. Morning found Dann Marine’s unusually designed pusher tug the Chesapeake Coast anchored in the River off 72nd Street with a tanker barge. This tug is seen on the River sometimes, but usually running light with…
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Labor Day: Loaded and light
Labor Day was a day off for many of us on land, but tugboat crews were hard at work, with tanker traffic fairly heavy. Evelyn Cutler began the morning anchored off Edgewater after seemingly loading a barge at Bayonne’s IMTT overnight. Tugs with loaded barges normally do not anchor in the River, but perhaps the…
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Uncommon visitors
Labor Day weekend Sunday saw many New Yorkers out of town, but on the River some less-frequent visitors were in evidence. The tugboat Hercules, normally based in Florida, came south from Verplanck with a former landing craft now known as West Bay, heading for Florida. A bit of research on the navsource.org website tells us…
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Catching up
The final days of August and first days of September brought a bit of a lull in activity, both on land and on the River. Most of the commercial traffic has been moving stone rather than fuels, though the cruise terminal has been quite busy, which is good for Centerline Logistics’ bunkering business. On Saturday…
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Midweek roundup
Tuesday and Wednesday brought moderate temperatures, and building westerly winds which made for great sailing up and down the river by Wednesday afternoon. Activity in the city and on the River was subdued in the run up to Labor Day weekend. A pair of Reinauer tugs and the Patrice McCalister were at anchor on the…
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Holiday week
The last week of August and unofficial end of summer brought typical hot temperatures and limited commercial traffic. Several tanker barges which had been idled in the North River over the weekend headed out, but not to pick up new cargos, instead anchoring elsewhere in the harbor. Patrice McCalister remained on the River off Edgewater,…
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Working in pairs
Sunday brought hot temperatures and light winds out of the East. The morning was marked by tugboats working in pairs, with a pair of tugs pulling and pushing a huge Weeks crane north, and a pair of Vane Brothers tugs also heading upstate light. Anchorages were filing up, with the Cape Henry and Stephen Reinauer…
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Two-way traffic
Summer is drawing to a close, but you wouldn’t know from the temperature, which remained hot Saturday. Winds were light and out of the north all day, providing less relief than in recent days. Commercial traffic on the River was heavy. The Cape Henry remained at anchor off 86th Street after arriving Friday evening and…
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Coming and going
The August pattern of hot days moderated by steady southerly winds continued Thursday. My time on the River was limited for a change, but the day was bookended by Reinauer ATBs, with a southbound passing in the morning and a northbound in the afternoon.
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Endless summer
Temperatures climbed again Tuesday, but the steady southerly winds which have been gracing us all of August this year have continued, providing some relief on the River. Commercial traffic was typical and light.
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Raised from the depths
The sunken yacht was raised from the bottom of the river this morning. Upper West Side photographer Peter Brandt captured some photos which he shared with West Side Rag: https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/08/23/burnt-yacht-raised-from-river-bottom Meanwhile, the River was in the news today for other reasons as well. The New York Times has run a story detailing concerns that some…
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Stormy Monday
Monday brought moderate temperatures and periodic thunderstorms passing through, with more on the way in the evening. Tanker traffic remained fairly heavy on the River. Meanwhile, in reporting for West Side Rag, we learned Ken’s Marine has been retained by the insurance company of the 48’ yacht which sank in the River on Saturday to…
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Summer in the city
Temperatures moderated Sunday and winds picked up, making for a great day to be on the water for recreation. For some mariners though, Sunday is just another working day, and commercial traffic on the River was heavy. As usual, ATBs were moving oil products north and returning light. Cement barges moved the other way, coming…
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Boat fire
A small yacht caught fire and sank in the river on Saturday afternoon, going down off 100th Street. FDNY and North Hudson NJ Fire Department boats responded but the boat sunk in about 30 feet of water. The FDNY reported no injuries from the incident, and NBC News reported that the passengers were rescued by…
North River Notes 