Click here for an account of gallivants in and around Ocracoke and Hatteras Inlets as well as my connection to these waters. Beaufort Inlet–near Cape Lookout–is scheduled for some depth maintenance these days with Marinex Construction excavating what McFarland count not extract. Katherine Weeks enters the inlet from sea with a light scow.
The only USACE presence I saw was Snell. USACE awarded Marinex the contract to subtract a half million tons of sand from beneath these waves.
I believe this is cutterhead/pipleine dredge Savannah, connected by pipeline to this
scow and loading equipment.
When Katherine tows the loaded scow out–here past Sea Quest II, a dive boat (more on that later)
Na Hoku-formerly a K-Sea vessel—
tails. The Sea Knight helicopter
just happened overhead. I’d love the view from a helicopter here.
Once through the narrow inlet, Katherine heads out for the dumping area and Na Hoku returns to its holding station.
Who knew the inlet could be this busy . . . l to r: Grace Moran, Aurora, Na Hoku, and Salamina1. More on the last one on that list tomorrow. Aurora, listed as a sulphur carrier, carries PotashCorp colors.
Potash Corp has their big mine about 35 miles from here, as the pelicans fly.
Chief is clearly a Marinex tug.
I’m not sure the ID of the inbound vessel here passing Chief, here heading out to the dredge.
I can’t say for certain about that dive boat early on and whether the divers had been on Queen Anne’s Revenge, but there’ve been lots of salvage activity around the Inlet in recent days.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
tugster: a waterblog 
3 comments
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June 25, 2013 at 5:22 pm
jollytar
And that’s BO-fert, North Carolina vs. BYU-fert, South Carolina…just sayin’
June 25, 2013 at 5:26 pm
will
actually, that nuance of local parlance came out while i was down there. and then there’s the french beer that’s pronounced “BO-FOR” Then . . . given language differences . .. i ordered a hot dog and was asked if i wanted that “all the way or without.” i took “all the way” and elizabeth took “without.” the former had chili, mustard, and onions. elizabeth, expecting NO dressing, got chili and mustard. when she told the server she had hoped to get the hot dog without dressing at all, she was told . . . “oh! you wanted PLAIN.” you gotta ask.
June 25, 2013 at 7:27 pm
tugpower
Kirby sold the NA HOKU to Noah Towing, LLC, Charleston, SC.
Vessel Name: NA HOKU USCG Doc. No.: 636961
Vessel Service: TOWING VESSEL IMO Number: 8973904
Trade Indicator: Coastwise Unrestricted, Registry Call Sign: WDD9270
Hull Material: STEEL Hull Number: 979
Ship Builder: HALTER MARINE INC Year Built: 1981
Length (ft.): 95.3
Hailing Port: CHARLESTON SC Hull Depth (ft.): 13.5
Owner: NOAH TOWING LLC
2008 CHERRY HILL LANE
CHARLESTON, SC 29405 Hull Breadth (ft.): 34
Gross Tonnage: 98
Net Tonnage: 66
Documentation Issuance Date: May 02, 2013 Documentation Expiration Date: May 31, 2014
Previous Vessel Names: CHRIS CANDIES
Previous Vessel Owners: KIRBY OFFSHORE MARINE PACIFIC LLC
K-SEA TRANSPORTATION LLC
K-SEA TRANSPORTATION LLC
HAWAIIAN INTERISLAND TOWING INC
OTTO CANDIES LLC