. . .or dino juice or geo sap. According to the US Energy Info Administration, the US consumes just under 20 million barrels of the stuff daily. Today, in less than a half hour, two tankers entered the Kills with a combined capacity (if I calculate correctly) of over a million barrels, or 5% of one day’s US consumption. First came Avra . . .
seen in by Brendan Turecamo. I’d guessed I’d never seen this tanker before
til it came close. Last time I took a foto of her, she sported flaky green paint and the name Altius . . . not Michele Iuliano, the raised metal name covered inadequately here.
Here are vestiges of her formerly green superstructure.
A previous time Americas Spirit came in, she made energetic use of her horn whistle as she plowed through the fog. Note: I wish I could perfect the art of whistling with that low penetrating pitch!
It seems from this itinerary that she’s in here once every two months.
Click here to see a report on her from some bloggers who watch the Straits of Canso.
Barbara McAllister and McAllister Sisters bring her in like a big catch, lots of juice.
All fotos today by Will Van Dorp.
tugster: a waterblog 
9 comments
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March 3, 2013 at 11:42 am
sfdi1947
A question for the ages: Is she legally transfered and reborne or an example of Somali/Indonesean Captivity, and hence questionable transfer?
March 3, 2013 at 2:13 pm
walt
One million gallons of anything is a lot: crude oil included.
At the State campus where i used to work: One million gallons of #2 oil per year were consumed for heating, and another Ten million gallons of make-up water were also utilized
March 4, 2013 at 9:00 am
tugster
. . and i said barrels, not gallons!
March 4, 2013 at 12:08 pm
walt
Thanks for the fact checking:
my bad: 10 gallons vs the 42 gallon barrel, on the make-up water side, and 1 gallon vs 42 gallon barrel on the 2 oil side
This darn metric system still has me all mixed up
March 4, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Ken
How does Americas Spirit compare in size to the American Spirit that is more familiar in my neck of the woods? http://michiganexposures.blogspot.com/2012/03/american-spirit-in-whitefish-bay.html
The American Spirit in my neck of the woods is 1000 feet by 105 feet?
March 4, 2013 at 11:15 pm
tugster
americas spirit is 839 x 151. i’d love to hear a naval architect opine on why these dimensions given the waters crossed and the cargoes transported.
March 5, 2013 at 9:18 am
Les Sonnenmark
That beam allows her to carry a large load of crude to docks of limited depth and length. Speed is generally not an issue for crude oil; she typically makes no more than 13 knots, keeping fuel costs low. Her beam will allow her to transit the widened Panama Canal, when it’s completed.
March 5, 2013 at 10:14 am
Ken
In the case of Great Lakes ships, they are limited by the dimensions of the locks. The largest Soo Lock is the Poe Lock and it can accept ships 105 feet wide and a little over a 1000 feet long. So ships that are going between Duluth and the lower lakes can have those dimensions. The Welland Canal is limited to ~740 feet long and 70 some feet wide. So ships that have to pass through the Welland Canal are limited to those dimensions, which is why most of the Canadian and Foreign ships are that.
March 5, 2013 at 2:55 pm
tugster
les and ken– thanks for the info.