To continue on from yesterday’s list . . . I’ve done chugster, jetster, even a gangster . . . though you have to search for it here by scrolling a bit, but the blog is called tugster, and I’m proud of that some chuckles notwithstanding . . . .
This is a cross section for the 250th time, a random sampling of what tugboats were working in the Upper Bay of NYC aka the sixth boro on a given morning earlier this week. By the way, the 001 version of this title dates from October 2007.
Vane Brothers boats and barges abound.
Hunting Creek stands by a set of four of them, while
Wye River travels light past the ferry racks.
Franklin Reinauer travels light past the count-defying load of containers on a ULCV over in Global.
ATB Freeport and Chemical Transporter transfer cargo over at the east end of IMTT, at
the same time
Scott Turecamo and New Hampshire do.
CF Campbell stands by with Long Island.
And passing an unusual but new landmark along the sixth born margins,
Patrice McAllister makes her way west. Quick . . . name a larger global garment retailer than H & M, and what the initials H & M expand to? Answers here.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, whose fingers froze and cold tears flowed while having the float-about, look-about.
tugster: a waterblog 
7 comments
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March 8, 2019 at 7:27 pm
Daniel J Meeter
So that H&M is on Staten Ijsland, by the looks of it, right by the Terminal?
March 9, 2019 at 3:07 pm
tugster
yup . . in Empire Outlets.
March 9, 2019 at 11:50 am
mageb
Why do the newer barges have the big yellow supports on their sterns?
March 9, 2019 at 3:09 pm
tugster
I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong, but I believe it’s only some Vane barges that have them. It’s part of the design and highlighted in yellow.
March 9, 2019 at 4:35 pm
Les Sonnenmark
The barges have adjustable skegs (like rudders) which can be moved to improve directional stability when towing at different draft and trim conditions. In each cluster of yellow pipes there is a vertical center pipe through which the skeg stock (like a rudder stock) runs up to the main deck, where a mechanism allows adjustment of the skeg angle. The skegs are typicall toed out (that is, set in opposite directions). The diagonal pipes are supporting and stiffening the vertical pipe. They’re all painted yellow for visibility, to prevent a boat or tug from damaging them.
Many other barges have adjustable skegs, but no means to adjust them without drydocking, which gets expensive and takes the barge out of service for a period, therefore losing revenue. So Vane Bros. must have decided to eat the up-front cost of the installation to improve profits later.
March 10, 2019 at 6:17 am
tugster
Thx, Les. So there was something I was not seeing all these years with the Vane barges. I wonder how often those skegs on the Vane barges are adjusted…
March 10, 2019 at 10:59 am
mageb
Thanks both of you.