Category: Uncategorized
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A visitor for the Teresa
Tanker traffic was light on the North River on Tuesday, but two tugs pushing hopper barges north did come through. The Teresa, which has been anchored in the river for over two weeks, received visitors as a tender came up from Staten Island and pulled alongside. This was likely a delivery of provisions and supplies…
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Presidents Day
Reinauer Transportation kept its articulated tug/barge (AT/B) combinations busy on Monday, with loaded tankers heading upriver and empties coming down. Below we see the Curtis Reinauer heading for Albany with a heavy barge after loading fuel products at the Philips 66 Bayway Refinery in Linden. Warmer weather and the holiday brought a kayaker out, seen…
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Everybody left
Sunday morning saw a fairly clear river, with all the tub/barge combinations that had been anchored here during the storms over the past few days now back at work and even Pier 88 empty after the Norwegian Getaway set off on its Bahamas cruise, first making a stop in Norfolk, Virginia. Only the Teresa and…
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Snow squalls
Most of the tugs that were anchored with barges in the North River on Friday had left us by Saturday morning. The Mako headed down to the bay, Morgan Reinauer headed back to base on Staten Island. St. Emilion headed down to Cateret on Friday, took on a new cargo and was heading back to…
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A port in a storm
The end of the week brought torrential rain, winds and a sharp drop in temperatures. A notable feature of life on the river was the large number of tugs with empty barges at anchor. In addition to the St. Emilion which had been here for a few days and Teresa which has been here for…
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A brief taste of spring
Temperatures rose into the 60s Thursday, giving us a taste of spring before another cold front rolls in tomorrow. The warm weather brought a pod of kayakers with outriggers onto the river. Commercial traffic remains light and mostly comprised of tugs returning with empty barges. There have been some interesting cargo movements during evening hours,…
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Warmer Wednesday
Warmer temperatures saw a few kayaks appear on the river, but commercial traffic remained rather light with not much cargo heading north. The tug St. Emilion returned last night from Albany with an empty barge and dropped anchor abeam of the Boat Basin, a bit south of the Teresa which continues to park here going…
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Pier Review
Many of the piers which once poked out into the North River from the Manhattan shore have long ago disappeared and a number have also been converted to purely recreational uses with no maritime functionality at all. However, some continue to serve their original purpose, providing access to ships in the river for passengers or…
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Tuesday blues
With winter maintaining its icy grip, the river has been devoid of weekday recreation, and commercial traffic has also been rather light. Dann Marine’s unusual looking Chesapeake Coast made an early departure for Philadelphia with an empty barge, having anchored overnight further up the river after making a delivery in Port Morris, The Bronx Monday.…
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Winter takes another bite
Winter returned with vengeance on Sunday and Monday, and daytime activity on the river has been light. A Vane Brothers tug made an early run up to Yonkers on Monday without a barge. Seagulls foraged for crabs at low tide in the lee of the 59th Street Sanitation pier.
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Baltimore chop
The Timothy Reinauer came through this morning, heading up the Hudson with a loaded barge, and AIS trackers indicate this trip originated in Baltimore. This is relatively unusual flow as most fuel cargos that head up the Hudson are loaded at the pipeline and refinery terminals located on the Jersey side of the Arthur Kill.…
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The trend is your friend
Temperatures continue to trend warmer, giving us hope that the worst of winter is behind us. The photo below shows the sun setting behind the Galaxy Apartments in Guttenberg New Jersey. The three Galaxy buildings went up in 1976, among the earliest towers built on that side of the river. The main entrances to the…
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Warmer Wednesday
Weather related backlogs seem to be clearing and traffic was quieter Wednesday. Reinauer Transportation kept its Articulated Tug/Barge (ATB) crews busy. ATBs are a married pair of a tug and a barge with a mechanical connection which means they do not have to be lashed together with lines as in more traditional setups. Reinauer’s Nicole…
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Hauling sludge
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) operates a fleet of 5 small tankers that can frequently be seen in the waterways around the city. The tankers transport residual solids that remain after wastewater has been treated (called sludge) between city sewage treatment plants. The city operates 14 wastewater treatment plants but only…
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A hint of spring
The sun came out for a bit on Tuesday, temperatures rose, and activity on the river picked up considerably. Dawn brought the arrival of the Norwegian Gem, returning from a Caribbean cruise. The Gem was joined shortly after arriving by a Vane Brothers tug and fuel barge for refueling or bunkering ahead of the next…
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Monday fog
The fog is back on the river and traffic is light. A Vanes Brothers tug pushed a loaded oil products tanker up from the Arthur Kill heading for Albany around midday. The only tug at anchor remains the Unico Commodities Teresa, anchored up in the West 90s. With her unusual Liberian registration and empty asphalt…
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Sugar, sugar
The Balsa 85 freighter sailed up the river on the flood tide this morning, heading for Yonkers with a load of sugar from the Dominican Republic. A sugar refinery has stood on the banks of the Hudson in Yonkers for over a 100 years, and currently processes sugar for the Domino brand, refining the raw…
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Not all ducks are the same
These residents of the 79th Street Boat Basin are not Mallards. I’m told by Manhattan Bird Alert that they are hybrid domestic birds, not wild breeds at all, probably released into the wild some time ago. They have apparently made their home at the boat basin for years, but with all the boats now gone,…
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Highway in the sky
Military aircraft use the Hudson as a kind of sky highway for moving north at low altitudes. On Sunday, this Marine King Stallion flew past NYC at 300 feet. The chopper originated at McGuire Airforce Base in Lakehurst NJ which hosts a Marine reserve aviation logistics unit, and flew up the river into Dutchess County,…
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Asphalt Barge
An asphalt barge is the sole anchorer in the North River Saturday, with its accompanying tug the Unico Teresa. The tug is Liberian-flagged, rather unusual for a tug doing domestic work. The Army Corps of Engineers heavy crane Driftmaster made an afternoon loop up the river as well.
North River Notes 