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As I suggested in yesterday’s post, Tampa Bay is a huge estuary. It’s quite a busy port, as well. On our way to refuel, we passed OSG Courageous and OSG 205.
Small container ships like Guadalupe seem to shuttle between Tampa, Progreso, and Panama City FL.
I’d love to know the story of this laid-up fleet. The only one I can identify here is Alex Chouest, foreground.
In yesterday’s post, I pointed out that Lady Terea had been called Mr. Russell and worked in the sixth boro as the new TZ Bridge was being built. Wherever it delivered those barges to, it was already back in Tampa for more.
Fleet Trader II took on cargo, and
Xin Nan Sha (which might just translate as “new Nansha“) shuffled boxes.
Endeavor is a ship-docking module, aka SDM.
A top-down view of this design can be found here.
Our goal was this shrimp dock, which allowed us to crew change and refuel.
Before I disembarked, I did notice a familiar barge beyond our berth. Barge Tennessee last appeared on this blog here.
All photos, WVD, who could post photos on my shore adventures, but I usually don’t. All I can say is I’d love to go back and explore the Tampa area, Venice, and then certainly check out the big bend of the forgotten coast and more . . . maybe Route 98.
Long time readers of this blog know I’ve assigned the term “exotic” to vessel types not commonly seen in the sixth boro. If I’d begun the blog in the SW Louisiana section of the Gulf of Mexico, I’d never have called the boats in this post “exotic.” For a primer on types of offshore supply vessels (OSVs) seen in these waters, check out this link and call it OSV 101 . . . as the USCG does.
Let’s have a look.
Above and below, the name “tiger” gets applied to two very different vessels with a quarter mile of each other. I’ve not yet tapped into significant resources for OSVs like the Tiger above or the Tiger below, a small lift boat, sometimes referred to as an elevating boat. I believe Tiger started life as Al Plachy in 1971.
These photos were all taken between Port of Iberia and Port Fourchon, an area where, besides OSVs like Luke Thomas, another “exotic” feature is the amount of energy infrastructure. I do have a lot of photos I’ll need help interpreting because I could call all these structures “rigs” or platforms but I suspect enough differentiation exists that should be understood. All that will be part of unpacking my recent hot sojourn. For a sense of the platforms and active pipelines in the “oil patch,” click here. A much more detailed picture emerges from looking at a bathymetric chart that shows all the inactive infrastructure that needs nevertheless to be considered before anchoring or spudding down.
More on Luke Thomas here.
Grant, I believe, is a smaller but faster OSV. As I alluded above, the amount of differentiation among platforms is significant.
Check out this sequence with Grant, where she approaches stern-to,
a “personnel cage” is lowered, and
a crew member will be transferred up to the top of the platform. Does the “cage” have a more technical or vernacular term?
Gloria May here backs up to a rig in the area of Isles Dernieres/Timbalier Island chain. I have some good bird photos, so I’m going to have to do a “for the birds post” one of these days.
I’m not sure where C-Fighter was coming from, but
her livery and name identify her as an Edison Chouest OSV, and she was headed into Port Fourchon. C-Fighter has appeared in this blog once before here.
All photos and any errors . . . please pin on WVD. I did make a doozy of an error in yesterday’s post, and am grateful for readers’ pointing out that error.
In a few days when I’m more settled, I’ll begin a more systematic record of my trip out of the bayous.
Quick, name that boat.
It’s appeared on this blog before.
She appeared here before as Charles Burton, but now . . . meet Helen!
Cape Hatteras (1967) and Eugenie Moran (1966) have recently appeared over by Prall’s Island, regular spot for tugboats being prepared for reefing. I caught Eugenie in Portsmouth NH over a decade ago here.
Now over to the coast 3000 miles away, it’s C-tractor 22. Thanks to JED, I rode out to sea with a previous generation C-tractor here over a decade ago.
Many thanks to Tony A for all but the last photo, which was sent along by George Schneider. Thanks to you both.
And I’ll keep the lights on in tugster tower to keep juicing up the robots.
Grey Shark assisted out of the Kills by Catherine C. Miller. Catherine is still working, but Grey Shark has not moved from its berth in Las Caleras DR in almost three and a half years, so it’s safe to assume she won’t be calling in NYC’s sixth boro any more. By the way, July 2011 had some HAZY summer days.
The former Kristin Poling (1934 as Poughkeepsie Socony) had a few months to work, here alongside the almost new Crystal Cutler.
The mighty Viking was still working. See the Celebrity ship in the haze.
along with even more powerful fleetmate Irish Sea, still intact and tied up at Vinik Marine.
Glen Cove was still working; she was sold south.
Then the gallivanting started, here with a stop under the Route 213 bridge alongside the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal to watch the almost-new Mako go by.
Down to Key West and USCGC Mohawk WPG-78, now a fish condo. She was reefed almost exactly a year later.
Florida is unusual in that few Kirby tugboats, to my knowledge, work as assist boat. She’s currently operated as a Seabulk tug.
C-Tractor 5 and its fleetmate
the slightly more powerful lucky 13 set the bar for unusual design and color scheme.
All photos, WVD, who’s making arrangements for more gallivanting soon, although it looks to be in the interior on the continent rather than along the edges.
If you’ve not seen a ULCV, CMA CGM A. Lincoln is coming in this afternoon/evening.
The first three come thanks to Steve Munoz . . . HMS Bounty heading up the North River in May 1998.
Taken November 2001, it’s Adventure of the Seas heading upriver with an diverse escort. Given the date, this would have been her maiden voyage into the sixth boro of NYC. John D. McKean and what appears to be another fireboat beyond her, a USCG 140′ cutter, and lots of commercial tugboats see her in. Adventure of the Seas is currently in Sint Maarten, along with at least four fleetmates.
From October 1986, David McAllister is on the starboard bow of Borenquin heading into Port Elizabeth.
From John Jedrlinic, it’s Laney Chouest in Tampa. The blue/white vessel at Laney‘s bow is the Aiviq, the AHTS built for ice. You may recall its challenges back in 2012.
and C-Tractor 8 . . . taken in October 2016.
And from last week, Craig Lewis sent along these photos of McAllister Brothers awaiting its fate in Fall River.
Since launch in 1958, how many tons of grub and coffee have crews ingested in this galley of the Brothers . . !?
And finally, last but not least, Skip Mildrum noticed some interesting cargo in Port Elizabeth recently . . .
Might they be new Kawasaki subway cars, four of an order of 535 R211 cars coming to a subway stop near you one of these days? They might not be, given his estimate of car length; R211s are only 60′ loa.
Skip’s estimate of the trailers was at least 120′. Also, the R211s are built in Nebraska . . .
Many thanks to Steve, John, Craig, and Skip for these photos.
As the sixth boro prepares to receive USNS Comfort,
on the other side of the continent earlier this week, USNS Mercy departed port of San Diego. No specific ETA is reported as yet for either vessel, as . . well . . . preps need to be made.
U.S.N.S. MERCY T-AH 19.
Seen leaving for the Port of Los Angeles to alleviate the burden on local hospitals there dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic by taking non-coronavirus afflicted patients.
► ONLY REPRODUCE WITH CREDIT GIVEN TO W. MICHAEL YOUNG ◄
Launched as SS Worth MA-299 on 1 July 1975 (in San Diego, California) and entered service as a hospital ship on 8 November 1986 (to US Navy).
Homeport in San Diego, California, she measures 894′ x 106.’
She is propelled by two boilers, two GE turbines, one shaft, 24,500hp (18.3MW) and can cruise at 17 knots. Her complement is as follows: 12 civilian and 58 military during Reduced Operating Status, and 61 civilian and 1,214 military during Full Operating Status. Her time to activate is 5 days
Photographed by W. Michael Young at San Diego, California on March 23, 2020.
© 2020 W. Michael Young
4629 Cass Street, PMB 78
San Diego CA 92109-2805
United States of America
► ONLY REPRODUCE WITH CREDIT GIVEN TO W. MICHAEL YOUNG ◄
As it turns out, Mercy went just outside the harbor and anchored, to complete preparations before deployment. There are many closeup photos of the preps at the pier in the link in the previous sentence.
Also, click here to see a 1985 photo of USNS Mercy being created out of SS Worth, a San Clemente-class tanker.
Many thanks to W. Michael Young for the Mercy photos; Comfort photo I took in Baltimore exactly 10 years ago this month. Both vessels were built by NASSCO in the mid-1970s.
And entirely unrelated: Has anyone ever seen El-Mahrousa, the 1865-launched Egyptian training ship?
. . or I could call this Scale, the next number in line.
Directly below, it’s Commander, the 140′ x 54′ escort tug on its way to Alaska in 2018. Photo comes from my sister, of ketch Maraki. She caught the tug off the east end of the Panama Canal. More on Commander here.
And on the other extreme in size, here’s a cute little tugboat from Jerry Rice, who runs the Pirates on the Pungo races in Pamlico Sound . . . more specifically in Belhaven, where I was born. This tug reminds me of the very popular tug here from over 12 years ago. The info on the “for sale” sign says “Francis Cox, 252-702-0623.”
And finally, from Jed, and taken a year and a half ago, it’s a Damen RSD 2513 tug. RSD expands to “reversed stern drive.” Specs are here.
photo date 17 june 2018
Innovation shows some innovative design.
photo date 17 june 2018
Many thanks to Lucy, Jerry, and Jed for these photos. I’m also happy to share other folks’ photos.
Over a week ago I felt all the symptoms of impending illness, Gfever. I suffer from that affliction quite a lot, as you know if you follow this blog. It starts when I can’t sit for more than 15 seconds, atlases–paper or interactive electronic–beckon, the ear worms in my head are all about travel . . . the only cure for this fever . . . Gfever . . . is a gallivant. And in this case, a Bayou Lafourche gallivant was the only remedy. So from the airport any direction was fine as long as it was south. Let’s cross this lift bridge and go . . . farther than we did last time here.
Of course, bowsprite came along and sketched hither and yon . . . and who could pass up Intl Defender!
There . . beyond the copse of backup rigs . . . it’s the boom town of Port Fourchon.
And rather than understand first and write later, I’ll just put up a sampling of vessels I saw. . . . Here’s off the bow of Delta Power (127′ loa) is Dionne Chouest (261′ loa). A random assortment goes on with
HOS Red Dawn (268′),
Dictator (140′), Candy Bear (156′), and Candy Stripe (130′),
the venerable Stone Buccaneer . . . ex-Eastern Sun.
the brand-new 202′ Capt Elliott,
a cluster that includes from l. to r. . . . HOS North Star, Seacor Washinton, C-Endeavor, C-Fighter, and Miss Marilene Tide. The stern-to vessel in the foreground . . . I can’t identify.
Looking like they’re aground and on the grass . . . it’s HOS Black Rock and HOS Red Rock, recent builds and each 278′.
There are more and more . . ..
in Port Fourchon, as seen here from the c-store looking over the trucks, the single-wides on stilts, and the vessels beyond.
Many thanks to our guide, Aaron of Crewboat Chronicles, a blog I look forward to read all of. We knew Ben was around too . . . but in a short time, you can’t meet everybody. Ben . . catch you later.
All photos by Will Van Dorp. Let me know whether you’re interested in another post from Bayou Lafourche.
This post still finds me in the southern hemisphere–for a while–but these fotos come from southern US, snapped by a friend who wishes no credit.
Stange looking Suwannee River?
Some Crosby tugs . . . Leader, Divinity, Duke, Admiral.
The only line of C-Tractors . . . this one the 6.
And finally, back to Suwannee River, three-quarters view. She really is 87′ loa x 50.’ That’s big-ass beamy!
Mariner A. Non Y. O’Mous snapped and shared these. If you see him today, thank him for me.
At my age . . . I’ve come to some places where –at each–I could spend a lifetime; choices need to be made. And if I can’t spend that much time at each, the alternative might be to just keep moving . . . since it’s too hard to figure out how
to get access. Those do look like parts of the superstructure of USS New York, which makes the Avondale Shipyard over there somewhere. In the sixth boro, tugboat Dorothy Elizabeth and prison barge Vernon C. Bain come out of Avondale, along with this huge international list.
Bayou Lafourche along 308 sports signs like this, birthplace of lots of Vane Brothers tugs, a Gellatly & Criscione, and several Penn Maritimes.
A couple of twists and turns later, there’s this Bollinger yard, home to the Sentinel-class of Coast Guard cutter. Consider this, two major US shipyards in a town of less than 3000!! Here’s more info on those cutters.
Continue south for 12 miles and you’ll see North American Shipbuilding, one of several Edison-Chouest Offshore facilities. Provider was delivered in 1999.
Manufacturing and then . . . those are banana “trees.” And in this tropical waterway, a cornucopia of boats can be found like
Victor J. Curole, (1979)
as well as
Capt. Thuan, (1987)
Squeegee and Sponge, (turns out they’re oil recovery vessels or were at one time, 1966)
Wyoming, (1940 fishing vessel)
nameless and Big Tattoo, (1981)
a floating home?
Mia Molloy bow and
stern,
Winds of Change . . . (2002) which appears to have a pusher knee integrated into its bow,
Mr Russell, (1995)
and I’d love to know more about this one,
Capt. Manuel, (1982)
this nameless variation on Lil Rip,
lots of dipnetters,
nameless, Carissa Breigh, (1980) and Junie Bop, (1981)
Lugger Tug, (maybe 1981)
swarms of swamp fans,
… let me stop here on this post which breaks my record for number of fotos . . . nameless, but I can almost make out the spelling of TUGSTER on the stern. Is it possible I’ve found myself and my place to settle here? She looks to have some pedigree . . . 1940s lines? Can anyone help with a bit of history here?
Time for tugster (1952) to stop this trip and contemplate and refresh with some Bayou Teche biere pale . . . . For more on Bayou Teche, the place, click here.
I intend to return to the Bayou soon, spend more time, and . . . who knows what might transpire.
All fotos here by either Will or Christina, partners in this jaunt-within-a-gallivant.
For a waterman’s view of the general area, click here.
tugster: a waterblog 
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