Tag: tugs
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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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Arrivals and departures

The first day of May brought some notable arrivals and departures from the piers along the west side of Manhattan. Leaving early Monday was the Dutch frigate HNMLS Holland, which spent a few days tied up on the north side of Pier 90. She appeared to be heading for home to Europe after some months…
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Friendly competition

Sunday brought typical fare, a collection of tanker barges and hoppers pushed by tugs from various competing towing companies. Norwegian Prima arrived at Pier 88 after Epic left for Europe the evening before. The expedition cruise ship Ocean Explorer docked on the south side of the pier.
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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.
Daniel Katzive
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Triple arrival

Things got off to a busy start at the Manhattan cruise terminal Thursday morning. After the Viking Octantis departed for the Great Lakes just before midnight, Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Dawn, and the Italian ship Costa Deliziosa all arrived in quick succession, stopping in New York in transit to Europe. Vane Brothers and Centerline tugs arrived…
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Need help?

The wing surfer was back on the North River off Riverside Park South for a second day, despite continued high winds. But this time he must have appeared to be having difficulty, because someone called for help on his behalf. The Harbor Patrol boat came up from the cruise terminal and so did Marine 1’s…
Daniel Katzive
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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…
Daniel Katzive
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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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In transit

Helping to transit Hudson River Community Sailing J80s from Viking Boatyard in Verplanck to Pier 66 in Chelsea provided a great opportunity to observe traffic north of the North River for a change. Traffic was moderate over the weekend, with an upbound bulker and downbound tanker the most notable observations.
Daniel Katzive
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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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Going back for more sugar

Thursday brought typical ATB and tanker barge traffic, as well as the departure of the large sugar barge Knot Refined heading back to Florida. Temperatures climbed sharply and a layer of haze covered the North River for most of the day before burning off in late afternoon.
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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,…
Daniel Katzive
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Tuesday traffic

After a slow start to the month, Tuesday brought some notable traffic to the North River, including some overseas cargos heading upstate on foreign flagged vessels. Pier 88 was also busy as the city’s Economic Development Corporation assembled some working boats from the Harbor for what seemed to be a career day for local students.…
Daniel Katzive
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The Calm After the Storm Before the Storm

North River anchorages filled up Friday night and Saturday morning as a weather system moved through on the first day of April. Saturday afternoon brought gorgeous dry and warm conditions, but this was expected to fuel renewed significant deterioration as a cold front comes through in the evening and a gale warning was in effect.
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Power move

Thursday afternoon saw the Dutch flagged cargo ship Floretgracht come down the North River from Albany on the way out to sea. The vessel had arrived earlier in the week from Northern Europe carrying steel cable spools according to the Port of Albany’s Twitter feed. The spools are for the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a…
Daniel Katzive
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Primavera

Norwegian Cruiseline’s Prima, launched last summer, arrived on the North River for the first time this year on Tuesday on a deadhead run from Port Canveral. Prima called here in October of last year and ran a few cruises from Pier 88 before heading south to Florida for the winter. She loaded passengers and headed…
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Light Sunday

Traffic was light on the North River on Sunday after the Saturday rush. A trio of Reinauer ATBs occupied the anchorages at sunrise, while several tugs with barges were also anchored off Yonkers. Warming temperatures made it a good opportunity to try out the newly reopened North Walkway over the GWB, which allows for a…
