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Wow! August almost passed us by without my doing a glance back to a decade ago. McCrews is now in Philly I’m told. Reliance and Justine are still with McAllister. Lynx was sold foreign and experienced an incident while being delivered, although I’m not sure how that turned out. Barents and Yankee both were refurbished by Donjon: Barents Sea is now Atlantic Enterprise and Yankee is now Signet Atlantic and sans upper wheelhouse. Mark McAllister was scrapped, and Na-Hoku under the same name works for a company based in Charleston SC.
Ellen McAllister here was bringing in the future Alex McAllister, which has gone on to spend a lot of time working in the sixth boro, although I’ve not noticed her recently.
Patrice (had just had a tragic delivery fire in this photo) and Bruce still work based out of the sixth boro.
I never did see Yankee after her upper wheelhouse was removed. I may have to return to the GOM if I ever want to see her.
Duty is now Nydia P, and I’d have to go to Puerto Rico to see her.
Ireland became Hoppiness, and has been converted to a liveaboard on Lake Ontario but headed the inland waterways of the TVA system.
Labrador Sea is now Vane’s Brooklyn.
And finally, here’s a mixed set: OSG 350 and OSG Vision still work under those names, Amy Moran became Stasinos John Joseph, and Scotty Sky became a snow bird and sails the Caribbean.
All August 2012, WVD, who after reflecting on all those changes admits to not being the same person as in August 2012 any more either.
Years ago [in 2008] I caught a mega-Bouchard tug in the KVK. It was Danielle M., now Rebekah Rose.
But yesterday I saw the much newer sister of the boat from 2008. Escorted into the Arthur Kill by Ellen McAllister and another tug,
and pushing RCM 270, a 250,000 bbl barge, it was
the massive 144′ x 44′ and 10,000 hp tugboat
wearing the livery and stack logo of Rose Cay Maritime.
Welcome
Lynne M. Rose. Check the spelling.
According to AIS, she made a six-day eighteen-hour trip to the sixth boro from Corpus Christi, a port I’ve yet to visit, although I will only go there in winter months.
Any errors and all photos, WVD.
While doing this post, I came to realize I’d seen this very boat before, back on December 1, 2021 here
and here at the Bollinger yard in Algiers, LA.
Enjoy this contrasting parting shot.
Kimberly Poling and barge lie alongside Maritime Gracious for lightering.
Eastern Dawn, here pushing a mini barge, continues to work in the sixth boro,
with a base over alongside the dormant Evening Tide.
Bruce A. travels west in the East River after a job over near Throg’s Neck.
I love the “whitewater” on the uptown side of the 59th Street Bridge.
A mile or so behind Bruce A., Ellen McAllister passes Rockefeller University’s River Campus.
Back exactly six years ago, pre-fab sections of the new campus building were lifted in place by a fleet of DonJon vessels here.
And finally, in the late spring haze, it’s Mary Turecamo
approaching her next assist.
All photos, WVD, who’s entrusting these posts to the tugster tower robots. Hat tip or whatever, robots. Actually, I don’t even know how many robots are involved in this effort, since they appear happy to subsist on nothing more than the electricity I provide.
I’m trying to get together a post or two from my current location, which I was supposed to depart from a week ago . . .
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?
Does equipment ever change in the sixth boro? Of course.
Thornton Bros, the 1958 Matton Shipyard product, was scrapped in 2014.
The 1971 Maria J is now Nicholas Vinik.
USACE Hudson, the sweetest Corps boat I’ve ever seen, got transformed into a fish house in 2019. Advance Victoria, 2006, is now Kition M, anchored in the Persian/Arabian Gulf.
The 2002 Labrador Sea is now Vane’s Brooklyn.
The 1944 Gage Paul inadvertently became a very deep fish house in 2015.
The 2002 Gramma Lee T is now in Norfolk.
Does the US Navy still have airships? If ever I have the chance to ride in one of these, I’ll take it in a heartbeat!
Bruce A brought in the 1970 Crowley Mars and
Michael J brought in the 1975 Crowley Pioneer; both Crowley’s were shipped off to Africa later in 2012. The 1971 Michael J. was scrapped late in 2021. Christine was working for Reinauer.
The massive 1970 Penn No. 6 is now the massive Vinik No. 6.
The 1972 Catherine Turecamo is now on the Great Lakes as John Marshall.
Do you still want to tell me nothing ever changes in the sixth boro?
All photos taken by WVD during the first SIX days of 2012.
Consider this to be in the spirit of Dawn 2021. I wasn’t there at dawn because the ship I wanted to catch–CMA CGM Von Humboldt–departed in the 0’darks, but I arrived a bit later, cold notwithstanding.
The first tugboat I photographed in 2022 was Zeus! Truth be told, her profile against the Raritan highlands was unmistakeable, but I was a half hour too late for a better shot; I hadn’t expected a traffic tie-up. She’s headed for Hampton Roads and beyond.
The second and third are Bruce A. McAllister and
Ava M, going to the Narrows to see someone about a ship
Next it was Brendan Turecamo assisting a Liberian-flagged tanker, Horizon Thetis. If you want some interesting origin stories, check a mythology text about the relationship between Zeus and Thetis.
Chemical Petrochemical Trader with Brownsville as the prime mover was next.
A while later Bruce A and
and Ava M came in with their catch, Ever Far. I’ll put up more photos of this new Ever F-class vessel later.
And finally, it’s my first view ever of Centerline’s Rubia, ex-Denise A. Bouchard. If you look closely, you can see Centerline’s lion on the stack. And the name Rubia . . . that’s Spanish for “blonde”… hmmm; it looks more platinum to me.
All photos, January 4, 2022, WVD, who finds it interesting what cold, clear winter temperatures do to photos.
That vessel in yesterday’s post was the 1983 Curaçao-flagged Mighty Servant 1, a semisubmersible heavy lift ship that hung around the sixth boro for much of December 2011. As of this posting, Mighty Servant 1 is traveling between Shanghai and Singapore.
“Semisubmersible” in this case means she can ballast herself so that large and heavy objects can float into place above her “flat bed” deck. When she deballasts, she lifts those objects out of the water. To deliver these same objects, the sequence is reversed and whatever heavy floating object floats off. I recall that while watching this process, which is very slow, uninformed folks near me watching it thought the USCG should be informed of a sinking ship in the boro.
Notice the clear deck area above and then below, large barges–sold to foreign buyers–being loaded over cradles.
Besides barges, two large tugboats were also floated onto the deck.
Centurion was an Invader-class Crowley tug from 1976 until this sale to Nigerian interests in 2011. Hercules was YTB-766 from 1961 until 2001, when it was sold to Boston Towing and renamed Hercules, a name it carried over to Nigeria. Charles A. and Gabby still work in the boro.
Once loaded, the deballasting begins and the underside of the vessels become visible and dry
How tall are you? That’s an 11′ diameter prop you’re looking at.
Once loaded correctly, a few days went by to snug all the cargo for the crossing. For some scale, the barge nearest us, RTC 90, is about 364′ loa. Also in the photo below, bottom right of the Empire State Building, that’s QM2.
All photos, WVD, who at this point headed south, so I’m not sure which day they departed for Nigeria.
For recent photos of another cargo on Mighty Servant 1, this one for SpaceX, click here. And a USN job, click here.
To highlight the variety, this post will focus on size, horsepower, and age.
Matthew Tibbetts, 1969, 92′ x 27′, 2000 hp. All numbers rounded up if .5 or more.
Brendan Turecamo, 1975, 107′ x 32′, 3900.
Crystal Cutler, 2010, 67′ x 26′, 1500.
Bruce A. McAllister, 1974, 112′ x 30′, 4000.
C.F. Campbell, 1975, 100′ x 31′, 3400.
Ava M. McAllister, 2018, 100′ x 40′, 6770.
Saint Emilion, 2007, 105′ x 38′, 4800.
Christian Reinauer, 2001, 119′ x 40′, 7200.
Magothy, 2008, 100′ x 34′, 4200.
All photos, WVD.
Two blog-related issues: Sarah Dann and the big blue crane are now below Quebec City. And, bidding has begun on Grouper and Chancellor.
Spring, for a few more weeks, means it’s no longer winter. Warmer temperatures bring mariners out, to clean glass,
to plan the docking procedure,
to flake out the lines,
to retireve the boom . . . although these boom guys have to be out all year round, as do all the crew above.
Spring temperatures just make it more pleasant to stay out,
on the way to work,
catching fresh air,
or just contemplating all the oceans this cargo vessel has already transited and will still transit in future months.
All photos recently, WVD.
Because the name and focus of this blog is tugster, you’d expect to see a lot of tugboats, both within the confines of New York harbor, aka the REAL sixth boro, and I hope you are satisfied that you find a plethora of tugboats in installments of this blog. So here’s Random Tugs #337, post 4877, and the tugboat is Foxy 3 moving an aggregate scow.
In the foreground, it’s Crystal Cutler; off in the distance it’s Normandy.
Diane B here heads east with a cargo in John Blanche. I did an article on this unit some years back.
Joyce D. Brown pushes an empty scow east. Notice anything on the scow that identifies it? See the end of this post.
James E. Brown passed sister Joyce D. that morning in the Kills.
Franklin Reinauer that morning may or may not have been under control of the author of a tugboat captain who shared his tales a few years back. I will stay mum. Off to the left, that’s Capt. Brian A. McAllister.
HMS Liberty muscled a barge full of bunkers to deliver to a thirsty ship over in New Jersey.
Centerline operates both Liberty above and HMS Justice below.
Susan Miller moves some material and equipment over to the project just west of the St. George ferry terminal.
Brendan Turecamo heads over to the next and the next and the next job.
Bruce A. McAllister assists a container ship into port.
Bergen Point came off the ways at Blount Shipbuilding way back in 1958.
So that scow Joyce was pushing above is called Maria and
this logo says it was once in the Disch fleet, now sold off in many directions.
All photos, WVD.
tugster: a waterblog 
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