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By numbers of boats, Vane Brothers has the largest fleet operating in the sixth boro, or maybe it just seems that way because the boats appear uniform, but there are subtle differences in size, power, vintage, and some of you know what else. It helps to think of this fleet as several classes, not all of which are shown in this post. The classes here are Elizabeth Anne, since 2015; Patapsco, since 2004; and Sassafras, since 2008; here I’ll abbreviate these classes as EA, PTS, and SAS.
Elizabeth Anne is now part of the Vane NW fleet working on the Salish Sea aka Puget Sound. Both Patapsco and Sassafras, now Steven Wayne and George Holland, respectively, have been sold out of the Vane fleet.
Nanticoke was launched in 2004, 4200 hp, and 95′ x 43.’ These are common to all/most PTS class. Assisting here is Fort McHenry, 2016, 3000 hp, and 90′ x 32,’ standard for SAS class.
Philadelphia dates from 2017, 4200 hp, 95′ x 34,’ standard for the EA class.
Wye River is a 2008 PTS-class boat, 4200 and 96′ x 34.’ I’m not sure of that 96′ loa number.
Choptank is a 2006 PTS boat.
Elk River is a 2009 SAS boat.
New York is a 2017 EA boat. I took this photo in the Black Rock Canal, in Buffalo. This is the only non-sixth boro image in this post.
Cape Fear is 2018 SAS boat. Fort McHenry in the distance has been mentioned above.
Charleston is 2018 EA.
Pocomoke is a 2008 PTS.
Fells Point is a 2014 SAS boat.
Kings Point is SAS, 2014. Jacksonville is a 2018 EA boat.
And to close for now, Fort Schuyler is a 2015 SAS boat.
All photos, any errors, WVD. Transiting the sixth boro now and then and some stick around, Vane Brothers has at least three other classes of boats in their fleet.
A previous all-Vane post can be found here.
What follows is photos of eleven Vane Brothers tugboats. Can you identify the four that are 3000 hp; the others are all 4200 hp. The difference lies with the height of theupper wheelhouse.
You choices are Susquehanna,
Magothy and Fort McHenry,
Cape Fear,
Fells Point,
Choptank,
Fort McHenry again,
Pokomoke,
Hunting Creek,
and again . . .
Patuxent, and
Elizabeth Anne.
All photos, WVD.
The 3000s are Fort McHenry, Fort Schuyler, Fells Point, Hunting Creek. The key is the shorter upper wheelhouse stalk.
Norfolk and its estuary constitute a major US seaport, so let’s linger here for this post. I’ve been there three times, and only once was it clear.
Besides military docks, it has a number of terminals. for this latter, here‘s a schedule; Notice it shows CMA CGM Marco Polo arriving here at 1300 on May 23.
Clayton W. Moran is a 2016 launched 6000 hp tugboat, just a bit newer than the four 6000s in the sixth boro.
Compared with the sixth boro, notice that you see many of the same companies working in Norfolk, and many of the same vessels, including container ships tugboats. Choptank is a 2006 Louisiana-built Vane 4200 hp boat.
The sixth boro has quite a Norfolk tugs fleet, but I suspect Ellie J, 1968 and 1800 hp, has never called up here.
I can’t tell you much about Dauntless II.
Emily Anne McAllister is a 2003 4650 hp tugboat.
Gold Coast is a 1967 1000 hp tugboat that has worn Dann Marine colors since 2005.
Captain Mac is a Corman Marine Construction tug built in 1980 and rated at 700 hp.
Steven McAllister is one of a dozen or so McAllister converted YTBs. Built in 1963 and significantly repowered in 2007, she brings 4000 hp to ship assists. She’s pretty much identical to Ellen McAllister.
Elizabeth Ann is part of the Norfolk Dredging fleet; she’s from 1982 and is rated at 3000 hp.
Ocean Endeavor is from 1966, 1000 hp, and has left saltwater for Milwaukee, where she’s now Ruth Lucille.
Paradise Creek (1981) once worked in the sixth boro as Caspian Sea and before that (and before my time) was here as Sea Tiger. Currently, it has been sold out of the Vane fleet and is known as Emmy Lou.
Maxwell Paul Moran is a 6000 hp, likely quite similar to Clayton W above.
All photos, WVD.
Here are previous installments, and I’m just observing in this post; although most vessels I see have intact coatings, others really need a trip to the shipyard for some paint.
The stern of Maersk Columbus was fine, but the bow had some extraordinary streaks of rust.
Cosco Istanbul had some
need of some work generally all over.
Ditto this Zim ship.
The surprise was this tugboat, Choptank,
this time on the stern.
Again . . . just observing and taking these photos, WVD.
Clio came into the sixth boro carrying “mineral fuel” cargo and a thick coating of sea ice. I’m not sure where she arrived from, but six months ago, she was in some unambiguously hot places, sans ice.
JRT had a band of icelets,
Choptank carried souvenirs of her time upriver where more fresh water flowed,
but Margaret takes the prize with the jagged hang-downs.
C. F. Campbell had ice stalactites yet not nearly enough given her port of registry. She has been in the sixth boro for a bit over a half year now.
Cold winters . . . they’re good for a lot of reasons . . .even for plants.
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
I’m rushing December, but I’m eager to get through winter and back to spring. All photos here date from December 2008.
Bowsprite took this from one of her cliff niches: June K (2003) here is moving the Floating Hospital (1974, Blount) up to the Rondout, where she remains. Is she really now called Industria at Sea.
The geography is unchanged, but McAllister Responder (1967) is no longer in the sixth boro, and Sea Venture (1972) is dead and likely scrapped . . . .
Maryland (1962) has become Liz Vinik, after operating with Maryland in the name for more than a handful of companies.
Choptank (2006) is back in the sixth boro and environs. My autocorrect always wants to call this tug Shoptalk. Puzzling. NYK Daedalus (2007) is still at work, just not here. TEN Andromeda is still on the oceans as well, still transporting crude.
Now called Charly and working the Gulf of Guinea, Janice Ann Reinauer (1967) used to be a personal icon in the sixth boro. Note that 1 World Trade does not appear in this photo, as it would today.
Closing this out . . . Margaret Moran (1979 and the 4th boat by that name) passes APL Jade (1995 and likely scrapped by now) in the KVK.
I’m hoping you’re enjoying this glances back a decade as much as I am.
With the exception of the first photo, all these by Will Van Dorp, who alone is responsible for research errors.
Unrelated: Win a trip on a Great Lakes freighter/laker here.
It’s been a few months to do a sixth-boro look around here. Of course it’s never the same. Never. Not even from one day to the next. Let’s start with Weeks tug Elizabeth. If I’m not mistaken, this machine’s carried that name ever since it was launched in 1984.
James William has been a regular in the sixth boro the past five years or so, but she started as a Moran tug in 2007. Note the eerie fog around the base of the Staten Island-side bridge tower.
Choptank [which the pesky auto-correct insists should be spelled Shoptalk] passes in the foreground; Mary H in the distance. Choptank is back from several years in the Caribbean.
Paula Atwell is almost 20 years old, having started out as Crosby Express.
Northstar Integrity . . . quite the mouthful of syllables . . . seemed an unknown to me, until I realized I knew her as Petrel . . .
Not long ago I caught Marjorie at work on the Hudson down bound.
Mary Gellatly emerges from the fog.
Evening Star rests B. No. 250 at anchor with Brooklyn in the background.
Mister T heads for the mooring . . .
All sixth boro photos by Will Van Dorp, who has a backlog of so many collaboration photos that I might be alternating much-appreciated “other peoples photos” posts for a while.
It’s still November 2015, so for me, it’s day 22 of this focus.
Let’s head south again from Hampton Roads, where a lineup of MSC vessels includes a supply vessel called Supply.
I guess this would be a small Navy yard tug. Click here (and scroll) to see a variant with roll bars. Here it closes the security gate after a Moran tug has come inside.
More security is provided by WPB-87329 Cochito.
In order from near to far on this foggy day are LSD-46 Tortuga, DDG-103 Truxton, and USNS T-AH-20 Comfort.
Emily Anne McAllister (2003) waits at the Norfolk International Terminals.
And there’s a long list of commercial tugboats, more than I want to squeeze into this post. So let’s start with Ocean Endeavor (1966),
Night Hawk (1981),
Dauntless II (1953),
Choptank (2006),
Payton Grace Moran (2015),
Goose Creek (1981), and finally for now
Steven McAllister (1963).
All foggy/rainy photos above by Will Van Dorp.
One of these days we’ll meander farther south on the Elizabeth River aka ICW. In the meantime, if you have photos of work vessels from any port huge or tiny, get in touch; there are still a few days of November left.
And since we’re a week or so from December, my idea for next month’s collaboration is “antique/classic” workboats, functioning or wrecked. Of course, a definition for that category is impossible. For example, NewYorkBoater says this: “The definition of an antique boat according to Antique and Classic Boating Society is a boat built between 1919 and 1942. A classic was built between 1943 and 1975 and the term contemporary, are boats built from 1976 and on.” Hmm . . . what do you call an old vessel built before 1919 . . . a restoration project? antediluvian?
If you take another transportation sector–automobiles, you get another definition: 25 years old or more. And for the great race, here were the rules for this year: “Vehicle entries must have been manufactured in 1972 or before.” Next year’s cut-off will likely be 1973.
So my flexible definition is . . . photo should have been taken in 1999 or before, by you or of you or a family member, and in the case of a wreck, probably identifiable. Exception . . . it could be a boat built before . . . say . . . 1965.
Colleen basks in early morning light before the race earlier this month.
Resolute makes a quick turn to assist with a tow.
Discovery Coast turns westbound into the KVK.
Resolute takes the stern of Thomas J. Brown.
Miriam Moran reports for yet another job.
The inimitable Herbert P. Brake leaves the east end of the Kill.
Laura K. Moran . . . speed turning.
Taurus heads for the mooring.
Treasure Coast crosses in the foreground after Taurus gets to the mooring.
Discovery Coast cruises back to home base.
It’s Choptank light about to cross the Upper Bay for Brooklyn, and
a whole bevvy of McAllisters, including Helen. in Mariner’s Harbor . . . also just before the tugboat race almost three weeks ago.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp, who does a short gallivant starting later tomorrow.
Little toot surely! And what might she be dragging along? Answer at end of the post.
A new sighting for me . . . Kathleen (1975).
Jill Reinauer (ex-Ranger 1967).
Amy C McAllister (ex-Jane A. Bouchard, 1975) with Ellen (1966) and MOL Innovation (1996) in the background.
Choptank (2006). And what is that dour yellow in the background?
Evening Tide (1970).
Another shot of Ellen escorting in MOL Innovation. MOL vessels are named for great abstract qualities like Vigor, Vision, Confidence, and –as seen here a little over a week ago–Efficiency. I’m wondering why the single-deep stack of containers occupies the starboard sternmost corner.
Lil Toot is Tommy Miller dragging in Lady Ashley of Cliffside Park. I’ve no clue about the make or vintage of Lady Ashley, but I suppose it’s impolite to ask a lady her age.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp within a shot hour and a half Saturday morning.
tugster: a waterblog 
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