Note: listing Sichem Defiance fotos at end of post.

Last week on New Year’s Eve I had on two T-shirts in the 66 degrees; three days later the temperature there dropped to 17, warmer than it was this morning in New York’s sixth boro.  But does that stop work?

No way! Torm Margarethe arrives and

Doris Moran heads out for the assist.  See a video of a high-pressure assist from a Belgian tug here.

Less than an hour later the duo heads for the Kill Van Kull.  For outatowners, the tall building in the distance just forward of the bow is the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower aka the Willie, built in 1927.

Another landmark in lots of my fotos (here just beyond the bow) is Jrsey City’s Goldman Sachs Tower, which lacks a nickname as far as I know.  Anyone offer one?  The architect was Cesar Pelli, who also designed Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia.  The Empire State Building is visible also.  But I digress;  perhaps my brain froze

as did the extremities of these crew.  Cold weather–not a time you want things to go awry, but

something went amiss with Sichem Defiance, where a tank blew, calling for the attention of emergency responders and

this list, and

then even more responders.

Hats off to the responders!  Hats off twice for the quick response.  On second thought:  keep the hats and gloves on, but nice job, guys, and thanks.

For the fearless-of-frigid-foundering friend called Bowsprite’s  post about ice-breaking on the Raritan River, click here.

All fotos fresh from the deep freeze by Will Van Dorp.