Tag: cement
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Cement dynamics
Cement usually moves south on the North River, coming down by specially designed barge from the Lafarge plant in Ravenna, New York for delivery to terminals in Bayonne, Queens and out in New England. Occasionally, though, imported cement comes north on foreign flagged bulk ships heading for Catskill, NY. The old Lehigh Cement plant there…
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Invasion day
Saturday brought the annual jet ski invasion, a mass gathering of personal water craft circumnavigating Manhattan in a clockwise direction. Its a great day not to be on the water if you don’t have to be, unless you have a jet ski. Also in town was a 340’ Canadian navy patrol ship, the Harry de…
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Input and output
The Lafarge cement plant in Ravenna, NY and the Domino Sugar refinery in Yonkers are two important users of the Hudson River marine highway. Though sugar and cement barges are not seen as frequently as the tanker barges and rock scows that are a constant presence, they do pass through quite regularly. Domino uses the…
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Smoke on the water
Brisk winds and occasional squalls rolling through did little to clear out the layer of smoke which sat over the North River Tuesday, a product of forest fires up north in Quebec. Commercial traffic was fairly heavy, with the knot of tugs anchored in the North River breaking up leaving only The Beatrice anchored off…
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Supply or demand?
North River anchorages have remained a bit busier than usual, for no obvious reason, with seasonal, supply, or demand explanations all plausible. B. Franklin relocated to the Upper Bay, but a pair of Poling-Cutler tugs remained into the weekend and were joined by Timothy Reinauer. Foreign product cargos remain in some demand apparently, with a…
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Spring at last, again
Conditions improved dramatically as the week progressed, while commercial traffic observations were light and typical, with fuel moving north and cement and stone moving south. The GCS 230 barge surprisingly was returned to Con Ed’s Pier 98 fuel dock by a pair of Vane tugs after an absence of a couple of days. The barge…
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Through traffic
The North River saw steady two-way traffic Tuesday. Early showers gave way to sun, but temperatures remain unseasonably chilly.
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Fish on!
There is more than striped bass in the North River. On Friday morning, a regular named Louis caught a nice looking catfish with a waited hook and bunker as bate. Later, a trip off the River to the Rockaways via NYC Ferry provided an opportunity to observe activity in the Upper and Lower Bays.
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Babysitting
Mid-April traffic remained fairly light, with cement still factoring heavily in the mix of observed cargos. A foreign flagged oil products tanker came through Tuesday morning, arriving from Hamilton, Ontario and signaling Albany. Hamilton is not a refinery port, but the tanker was riding high in the water and its possible it was heading up…
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Cooling down
The weekend passed with fairly typical traffic, with cement and possibly ethanol notable cargos as we transition away from heating oil season and head into summer driving. The cruise terminal was also busy, with Norwegian Getaway and Gem in town Saturday and Prima visiting Sunday. After a work week which featured record April temperatures in…
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Spring training
Summer-like temperatures and longer days are drawing more and more recreational traffic back to the North River. The water remains cold and provides a bit of air conditioning for those on shore, but first responders also seem to be getting more active as they prepare for a busy summer. Thursday saw an FDNY and Newark…
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Flying through April
The first few days of the new week have seen fairly light traffic during periods of NRN observation. Cement barges continue to be active. Early spring would typically be associated with a pick-up in construction activity consistent with this, though one might have thought the warm winter would dampen the seasonality somewhat. Temperatures continue to…
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Fuel moves north, cement moves south
Good Friday saw limited traffic on the North River, though some barges were moving early. The Rotterdam remained at Pier 88 for a second day, preparing to sail for Holland where she will join a celebration for the 150-year anniversary of the Holland-America Line. Late in the day, the bulk ship SSI Magnificent came up…
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Returning light
Traffic on the North River remained heavy Wednesday after a busy Tuesday. Most observed barges were returning empty from deliveries elsewhere, but a foreign flagged tanker did move upriver heading for Albany with refined product from Montreal. This is the fourth presumed foreign oil products cargo observed by NRN over the past month or so,…
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Beware the Ides
Skies cleared Wednesday but the winds remained elevated, gusting above 40 knots with gale warnings in effect all day. Tanker barges were moving around the River but through cargo seemed rather light.
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Mid-March Nor’easter
Storms have rolled through the New York area as we reach the middle of March, with a wintery mix on Friday followed by a nor’easter arriving Monday evening. By Tuesday afternoon, winds had shifted around to the northwest and were gusting above 40 knots, with gale warnings going into effect. Heavy snow accumulated on the…
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Tanker time
A foreign-flagged tanker moved up the River Thursday morning, arriving from Montreal and likely bringing a cargo of refined products from the refinery there. Most oil products move north on US flagged tanker barges pushed by tugs or articulated tug/barge combinations (ATBs), coming from the refineries and pipeline terminals in North Jersey or, sometimes, from…
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Weekend warriors
The weekend brought pleasant weather with temperatures in the 40s and occasional periods of gusty wind. River traffic seemed rather light. By the end of the weekend Vane’s Pokamoke and Gracie Reinauer were anchored off the Upper West Side.
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Weird winter
The weird winter of 2023 continues, with temperatures climbing into the 50s and only the brisk 15 knot southwest winds providing a reminder of the season. A tanker barge cargo of what was most likely ethanol moved south en route to Boston, and stone hoppers were heading north.
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Typical traffic
Temperatures warmed Thursday but intermittent rain put a damper on things. Traffic was largely typical, dominated by Reinauer ATBs. Cement barge traffic remains heavier than usual, perhaps reflecting the warm weather supporting construction activity through the winter.
North River Notes 