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For the past week on AIS, this has been “govt vessel 5,” and she’s currently in Stapleton taking on fuel.
Clearly she’s a Freedom-class LCS, with its distinctive bow-low profile. It’s powered by four engines: 2 x Fairbanks Morse/ Colt-Pielstick 9,100 hp diesels plus two 2 x Rolls-Royce 48,000 hp gas turbines run through four Rolls-Royce/Kamewa waterjets. For routine cruising, I was told on my tour yesterday, only the diesels run. For sprints, all four are on line.
Tours were open to the public in Stapleton the past few days.
The vessel has no curves, but neither does it have many right angles.
The explanation offered for the large flight deck is that as a relatively small vessel, it rolls/pitches/etc. in a sea. The additional space is appreciated by helicopter and drone operators.
I’d love to have seen the engine room, but this is as close to the engine I got.
Here’s the view back toward the bridge, as seen from between the anchor machinery and the deck gun.
And finally, some views from the helm and
assorted screen, indicators, and the four engine controls.
All photos, WVD.
Below is an article from Saturday’s NYTimes, and the women of the fleet.
Novel bow marking,
unusual box colors,
familiar port . . .
recognizable tugboat,
container with the “I” painted out,
certainly a container line marking I don’t recall seeing before,
oh wait . . . what did that character’s name mean in Swahili? And what’s been painted out is X-press Annapurna . . . same same, Hakuna Matata or Likambo te…, as I would say it back in the 1970s . . ..
no problem . . . . Any Lingala speakers out there today? Oh well, don’t worry be happy is the same.
All photos, WVD.
New container shipping lines have appeared in the boro here and here recently.
What’s happening at this bridge?
Approaching on what appears to be a wooded river is an antiquated cargo vessel.
Know this sylvan location?
Might this be a not-so-obscure location referred to as the UES,
the Upper East Side of Manhattan? That certainly appears to be a section of the river campus of Rockefeller University . . .
Of course, this is the non-river but a tidal strait referred to as the East River, where the first pre-fabricated portions of the new campus were lifted in place only six years ago here.
And of course this is Empire State VI, launched as a cargo ship in 1961, converted on the Great Lakes to be a training ship, and serving as such for SUNY Maritime for over 30 years now, and departing on her last summer sea term for that school. See here.
Old as this training ship is, she turned heads along the East River as she headed out for sea. Many past departures and returns and shifts have been the basis of posts on this blog in recent years. I’d love to see photos of her transiting the Welland Canal and Saint Lawrence back 30+ years ago after conversion to training ship.
Happy, safe, and instructive cruise, cadets. As of posting today, she’s off the east end of Long Island with next port of call–if my info is current–Philly. I wonder if there will be a sail-past of the new NSMV at the Shipyard there . . . . It would make a great photo op, with the old and the new.
All photos, any errors, WVD.
I’m just observing, not criticizing, but the vessel turnout in 2022 seems quite small. I understand that lots of other things are happening globally. Following USS Bataan, USCGC Sycamore (WLB-209) and HMS Protector (A-173) arrive. They are both about 20 years in service and have both done assignments in the Arctic.
Sycamore made a run up to the GW before turning around. I saw her here in the sixth boro just over a year ago.
Protector did not begin life as a UK Royal Navy ice patrol vessel. Rather, it was built as the 2001 Polarbjørn in Lithuania for GC Rieber, a Norwegian company based in Bergen, a port I visited way back in 1985, on one of my early gallivants. Unfortunately, in those days I traveled sans camera.
USCGC Dependable (WMEC-626) built at AmShip in Lorain OH and commissioned in 1968, is over the midcentury mark and still at work. AmShip Lorain-closed since the early 1980s- built some icons, several of their lakers still very much in active service.
Most of the medium endurance cutters of Dependable‘s cohort-Reliance class– are still in service, either in the US or elsewhere.
USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) was commissioned in 2015. Like Sycamore and Dependable, she was built on the Great Lakes
Four years ago here, I visited the Marinette Shipyard town where Milwaukee came into existence. Some products of Marinette include Sycamore–above–and Ellen McAllister, also involved in Wednesday’s parade into the sixth boro. Katherine Walker, part of the welcoming committee Wednesday, is another Marinette product, as are some of the current Staten island ferries (Molinari class) and some ATBs, like Brandywine and Christiana that pass through the port now and then.
As Milwaukee steamed upriver, she slowed and spun a 180 turn much faster than I imagined possible for a 378′ vessel. I wish I’d been on shore just off her improvised turning basin when she did so. Was anyone there and can send photos?
A sister of Milwaukee, USS Duluth (LCS 21) was commissioned in her namesake city only earlier this week.
All photos, WVD, who hopes to get in some more Fleet Week sights this weekend. If you’re reading this and arrived in the sixth boro–aka the primary boro–of NYC, welcome.
Scouts? Patrol? Search pattern? First and foremost, it’s to honor our war dead, and there are too many of those, even the walking wounded and dead….
Thanks to New York Media Boat, I caught the fleet from a different angle, all while respecting the safety zones.
Note the unmistakeable red of a McAllister tugboat on the starboard bow, along
with a handful more McAllisters and the other fleet vessels following.
The USACE and USCG always take part . . .
USS Bataan (LHD-5) was the lead ship, and
it docked in the Hudson River Passenger Terminal.
More WVD fleet week 2022 photos tomorrow. Lots more photos of the LHD can be seen here. A guide to Fleet Week activities can be found here.
Previous tugster fleet week posts can be seen here.
Dana Alexa is another seldom seen tugboat in the sixth boro of NYC;
although painted DonJon blue, she’s now a Breakwater Marine boat, I believe.
It was good to see the 1958 54′ boat with a barge of what appears to be sheet piling.
William F. Fallon Jr. has appeared here several times recently.
Robert IV has worked in the boro for over 30 years.
Linda L. Miller originally was called Frog Belly. I like that name.
And finally, you most likely by now have heard about the barge carrying scrap metals that caught fire on Delaware Bay and you may have wondered how scrap metals could burn. What follows is a series of photo I took in mid-April of a similar load.
This load was towed by Mackenzie Rose; the one that caught fire was towed by fleetmate Daisy Mae. Loads like this have been fairly common on the run from the sixth boro to the Delaware River.
Of course an investigation of the fire, which was confined to the barge, will take some time,
but scrapyard fires are fairly common. Here‘s an unrelated though germane article from the BBC.
All photos, WVD.
I’ve posted a lot of unusual ship names here over the years.
If you don’t read Greek, as I don’t, the one above and below are the same ship, just from different angles.
Triton is a 14k+ teu vessel, making it quite the giant.
Whether it’s jolly or not, i can’t tell. It is truly jam-packed.
Over on the far side of Triton, yup, that’s Happy Lady.
Justine, Ava, and Ellen all played a role in getting Triton safely into if not out of the sixth boro.
Taipei Triumph is a bit newer and has roughly the same teu-capacity. Notice how small the ferry Barberi, which is closer, looks in comparion.
Gregg McAllister is working the starboard bow,
with an untethered JRT Moran following, and Bruce A. ready when needed.
Bow and stern on the two green giants are slightly different.
Other than the sixth boro setting, the escort tugs, my framing in the post, and the fact that all the photos were taken by me, WVD, they are unrelated.
Anyone catch the vessel in this post that I did not acknowledge in any way?
Call this the seldom-seen version of RRT. I love that blue and the name on this 1954 tugboat.
Kenny G …. I caught her tied up on the south side of Hudson River Pier 25, but by the time I got back there, Kenny G
had moved tow elsewhere.
And here are a few maybe never before seen in the sixth boro from Capt. μηδέν, who sends along the next four shots. Meet the 1981 Marcella G. Gondran, which autocorrect insists incorrectly must be Honduran.
Also from the peripatetic sailor, here’s H. J. Reinauer and Iron Salvor, the latter certainly being an unusual vessel. I know some stories, but i’d love to learn more about this global nomad.
Here’s H. J. with the more familiar Diane B in this framing. H. J. is a 1979 Jakobson-built tug that appears to be headed to a new life in the very far south.
This version of Little Toot . . . is another I’ve not seen in ages. Often that moniker goes to any much-smaller tugboat. This 61′ x 21′ 1977 tug came from the Blount shipyard.
And to close it out, here’s another shot of William F. Fallon Jr. over by the KV buoy. The the former J. George Betz from 1995.
Unless attributed to Capt. μηδέν, all photos, WVD.
Count them . . . at least four very different vessels: Saint Emilion with barge, JRT waiting to assist, Grace D shuttling people and supplies, and a sloop.
Here’s more from hither and yon around the sixth boro: Navigator at “old navy” topping off the ferry reserves,
Popeye fishing in front of Ellis Island,
Meagan Ann taking the stern of this interesting sailing trawler,
another sloop passing the Statue line, a Circle Line boat, as well as a Statue Cruises vessel,
and a NY Media Boat touring RIB.
Yes, I’m back to that trawler. It’s called Briney Bus out of Miami, but besides that, I don’t know much. My guess is that, like many boats, it’s heading for the NYS Canal system, which opened two days ago.
The parting shot . . . Meagan Ann.
All photos and any errors, WVD.
tugster: a waterblog 
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