Vane Brothers 8

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.

 

Random Tugs 300

The year 2007 spawned this series here.  Since you’ve stayed with this blog, I’m celebrating a milestone . . . the 300th post in this series.  Thanks for continued visits to tugster.  To honor this event, I solicited photos from you, particularly photos that’d never previously appeared on this blog.  I threw some of my own unusual ones in to round out the post.  Thanks to all who sent in photos, or thought about it, and added some explanation.  Since the internet allows quick and easy photo exchanges globally, I’m always interested in folks sharing photos of tugboats and other workboats from everywhere.  Vladivostok?  Karachi?  Baku?  Port of Spain?  Paramaribo?  Douala?  Luanda?  Umm Qasr?   I hope you get the idea.

Tim Sansom wrote:  ” taken at Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter in December 2016, showing the tugboat Koraki and the cement barge Marsden Bay.  Koraki, built in 1985, regularly hauls cement barges between Auckland and Whangarei for Golden Bay Cement. The Wynyard Quarter is a redeveloped part of Auckland harbour between the ferry and cruise ship terminal and the marina, and usually has a few fishing boats tied up as well as ferries to the Hauraki Gulf islands, one of which you can see in the background.”

I took this one of Elizabeth Anne at the King’s Point dock in 2015. That’s the Throg’s Neck Bridge in the background.  The 1980 tug was donated to the US Merchant Marine Academy in 2014.

I took this on Oneida Lake NY in November 2016.  My platform was craneship Ward’s Island, now fish and other aquatic life habitat, but then was doing one of its last seasons plucking channel markers from the NYS Canals portion of the Lake. Tug Syracuse, 77′ x 20′ , has worked exclusively in NYS Canals since spring 1934.

William Mitchell took this photo of Donna and Charlie Costa’s Hobo in Wickford RI.

Jan van Sluisweg took this photo of the 1976 Arion, 94′ x 30′, towing City of Dubrovnik and approaching the lock in IJmuiden in 2014.

From Kyle Stubbs:  “Brusco’s Capt Bob Campbell hasn’t appeared and  offers a fun connection to Lindy Marie seen in your post Columbia River Tugs. Both the Lindy Marie (as  Fireball) and Capt Bob Campbell (as  Warrior), were in-house products of the Smith Tug and Barge Company of Rainier, Oregon. Founder Wilbur Smith had been witness to a number of accidents on tugboat decks, and as a result embraced a design philosophy that eliminated blind spots on the deck as seen from the pilothouse. The result was a series of tugs with unique, sloped deckhouses that earned the company the nickname of the “Studebaker Fleet” in reference to that automaker’s distinctive models of the 1950’s.”

The Studebaker fleet . . . I love that.  Kyle took this photo at Grays Harbor on the Washington coast.

From George Schneider:  “Maybe this one is too wee to count, but she’s the tug Elsa.  She was built back in 1955 by the Welding and Shipbuilding Company of Costa Mesa CA as their hull #1, and to my knowledge, the only vessel built there.  Her original owner was Francis P. Jones of the Jones Tug & Barge Company of Long Beach CA.  At the time she was 50 ft in length and rated at 290 HP.  Jones later lengthened her to about 60 ft. (58 ft registered) and HP was increased to 600.   Jones closed shop in the 1980s.  Since then she’s moved bunker barges in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, and is now owned by Global Marine Transportation Inc. of Los Angeles.”

Another from George, not so wee: “Here’s my next , a Gulf tug.  She was originally built as Abdon Martin by Halter Marine at their New Orleans yard in 1976, and ownership was always listed as Halter Marine Inc, although Andrew Martin Sea Service Inc. appears to be a separate company who operated her.   In 1985 she was sold to the N. J. Guidry & Sons Towing Company, who remained listed as her owner while named Harvey Trojan, showing Harvey Gulf Intl. markings.  When Harvey Gulf decided to concentrate on supply boat activities, they sold her in 2014 to Signet Maritime Corp, and since then she has sailed as their Signet Trojan.”    If my info is correct, she’s 110′ x 34′ and rated at 13,500 hp.

From Antonio Alcaraz:  “VB Andalucia [built in 2004 and 97’x 36′] underway service Algeciras port.”

One of my own from Block Island, it’s Petersburg in October 2015.  The 1954 107′ tug was recently used in a movie.

Another of mine from February 2016, Sea Wolf A in Havana harbor.  The 1996 tug was built by Damex Shipbuilding in Santiago Cuba.

And in the sixth boro, I took this one of Paul T Moran.  Currently the 1975 built 138′ x 40′ 150′ x 49′ behemoth is in Mobile AL

Westbound in the East River, it’s Thomas D. Witte with Powhatan alongside.  My record keeping for the period is scrambled, but i believe I took this is 2005 or 2006.  As of this writing Powhatan, now operated by the Turkish Navy as Inebolu A590 is on the Turkish Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Samsun.

Again from George Schneider, who took it in June 2014 on Portrero Reach, Richmond CA on San Francisco Bay:  “One class of tugs you may not have seen in the Sixth Borough are the recent tractor tugs from Jensen Maritime Consultants.  They’re a widely respected group, evolving since Bay Delta put the first one in service in 2007.  Since that time, some of the majors have chartered these from Bay Delta, including Foss, Crowley, and AmNav, and once the quality of the design was recognized, companies have also gone directly to Jensen’s to have them built.  Bay-Delta began congealing as a company in the early 1990’s with second-hand tonnage.  They remain small, but obviously have been a leader in tug development.   This shows Delta Cathryn, built by Nichols Brothers in 2009.  She’s the second Jensen tug by that name, the first is now operating for Crowley as Vigilant.   In 2019 the first hybrid tug of this series, Delta Teresa,  was completed and also immediately chartered to Crowley.”

I took this photo of Ocean Henry Bain in Quebec City in March 2017.  The 2006 z-drive measures in at 95′ x 37.’

From Maraki, a Chinese built tug Pino, working in Colombia then off Cartagena.

Many thanks to Tim, William, Jan, Kyle, Antonio, George, and Maraki for these delightful photos and text.  I’d love to do this again, maybe at the 400 mark, or maybe sooner.  My editor is very easy-going.

 

 

 

Really Random Tugs 46

Happy 4th of July.  Here’s some sixth boro, some heartland, and some Pacific Northwest.  Here‘s the series.

But let’s start with Robert IV, a workhorse who last appeared in this blog here.

Hundreds of Cheyenne photos have appeared on this blog, showing her in a range of colors and trims; this photo was taken last week in Manitowoc by a Great Lakes mariner, who, by the way, at one time worked in the sixth boro.

Ellen McAllister has worked in the sixth boro longer than I’ve been taking photos here; as a result, hundreds of photos of her can be found here.

For a red-white-blue tug today, what could be better than a Nicholas Vinik photo.

 

An outa-towner has come through the sixth boro twice this week with an unusual bargeload;  bad decision-making means this is the best photo I got.  Sorry, Elizabeth Anne.  Did anyone get a better photo?  Any idea what the “marshmallow” load on that barge is?

Two of the tugs assisting in a Cosco Shipping ULCV, Brendan Turecamo and JRT Moran, seem small but bring adequate power to the task.

Another view of Cheyenne shows her location on the Manitowoc River, adjacent to Erich.

Thanks to Kyle Stubbs for sending along this photo of a raft of Boyer tugs.  L to r, it’s Sea, Billie H, Gretchen H, and Kirsten H.  You might have recognized Sea as the former Java Sea, a regular operating out of the sixth boro. Despite what’s on the bow, she’s now called Kinani H.  In the back row, that looks like Sonja H.

How about another red-white-blue boat for today?  This is from over 11 years ago. It’s the 1951 Dorothy Elizabeth, ex-Gotham, Christine Gellatly, Mobil 11, Socony 11.

To close out the set, Iron Salvor, a Vanuatu-flagged tug, is back in town. Anyone know her story . . . who she works for?

Many thanks to Great Lakes mariner, Kyle, and Tony A for some of these photos;  photos not otherwise attributed by WVD.

Really Random Tugs 44

First, from Kyle Stubbs, three Vane tugs  (Elizabeth Anne, Hudson, and Delaware alongside DoubleSkin 501) which would not be that unusual on this blog, except he took the photo in Seattle over by Terminal 5.  Click here for previous photos from Kyle.

Leaping south to the Mexican port of Manzanillo–north of Lazaro Cardenas–it’s VB Yucatan, in between  CMM Jarocho. and CMM Maguey. 

Not a tugboat, but also in Manzanillo .  . it’s Elizabeth Oldendorff, a gearless differently-geared sister of Alice.

In the center of the photo below, I’m unable to identify this Grupo TMM tug. 

Heading up the Hudson River, here’s an oldie-but-goodie, Ronald J. Dahlke.  Photo was taken about a month ago by Willard Bridgham in Waterford.  Anyone know where she’s gone to now?  She’s a sister of Urger and built in 1903!!

And it is that season, as this photo of Cornell by Paul Strubeck reminds us.

Thanks to Kyle, Maraki, Willard, and Paul for use of these photos.

Sixth Boro Summer 3

Lest you think Combi-Dock III and Peking–I will get back to them– are the only thing happening in the watery parts of NYC, here’s just a sampling . . . in a series I started last summer.

SBI Macarena –a fairly new bulk carrier– came in past the Brooklynside ramps for the VZ Bridge,

passing Jo Provel on the way out . . .

looking quite large relative to the new NYC ferry.

Tanker New Confidence tested its systems–water and sonic–as Doris Moran arrived.

Where the Wind Blows sails south toward the Narrows, so fast that

I lost track of her, although I admit to being distracted by this squadron passing overhead Elizabeth Anne.

Pioneer–one of South Street Seaport Museum’s schooners–also sailed past and ever went outside

the Narrows, where I’ll pick this up another day.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, waiting for Combi-Dock III action.

 

In Culpa Sumus

It’s not just mea culpa.  I’ve done it, you have too, most likely.  “What?” you ask?  I’ll get to that.

Foreshortening does make for dramatic photos.  And that looks like a spare prop high up on the port side deck.

Watch out there, Madame Mallard . . .

What would Captain Ahab make of this profile?  Onyx Arrow was in port for less than a half day yesterday, arriving from Halifax and Europe before that.  Early afternoon I got these photos of her leaving town…

So this “we’re all at fault” title in Latin above?   We’ve all hit animals while driving:  birds, bats, other folks’ pets, turtles . . .  I’ve never hit a deer, but over a million are hit on US highways each year . . . .

Here’s what I’m getting at . . . see it on the bulbous bow?  Here’s more info on ship strikes . . .

It’s sad to see . . . like deer along the highway, but mitigation seems not so easy.  I know of a sailboat sailing with no engine running that hit one that may have been asleep on the surface . . .  middle of the night.

The last two photos come thanks to the always alert Tony A;  the others by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Tugs 185

It was a warm but cloudy day . . .

Frances came by, as

did Barry Silverton on a delivery to the Bay State,

Ellen McAllister to meet a ship,

and Elizabeth Anne.

After a lull, there was a burst of traffic again:  Sea Fox,

Sea Wolf in a hurry,

and JRT Moran.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Port of Kings Point

aka GHP&W 7.  Kings Point (KP) is to the United States Merchant Marine Academy as Fort Schuyler is to SUNY Maritime College or Traverse City is to Great Lakes Maritime Academy.  Today’s post is intended to introduce some of the KP boats;  if you’re interested in the buildings that have expanded beyond the former waterfront estate of Walter Chrysler, click here for a fabulously detailed USACE report on the USMMA’s historic district.   Walter Chrysler is himself quite the interesting character.  Click here for the USMMA Foundation’s newsletter.

The boat above–Tortuga or ex-Georgina–was in the basin until last Wednesday.  Today’s post and tomorrow’s feature photos taken Wednesday and Thursday.

The blue-hulled Liberator and the tug Elizabeth Anne are two of USMMA’s vessels.

 

 

Growler (ex-USCGC Catenary WYTL 65606) has been at the USMMA in KP for about 20 years.  Click here for previous Growler posts.

 

The USCG boats docked at KP include a 29′ RB-S II in front of an RB-S.   Tortuga is to the motor vessel to the left.

The white building slightly left of center below is the former Chrysler estate.

 

0651.  about to depart.

Click here for a previous post on Tortuga.  Click here for a post I did in 2007 about the previous T/V Kings Pointer;  tomorrow I’ll post photos of the current vessel by that name.

 

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

For clarification of geography, King’s Point is the first Nassau County town when you drive east from northernmost Queens, i.e., it’s Long Island, no longer NYC.

 

 

 

 

 

Twelve Hours on the Sound

USMMA Foundation vessel Tortuga needed hands for a transit from Kings Point to Newport RI, where it is serving as support for Warrior Sailing program races this weekend.  I didn’t wait for a second call. I just needed to get there by 0250.  No problem, since this IS my favorite time of “day.”

tug Elizabeth Anne at 0236 h.

sunrise from the bridge of Tortuga at 0502.

Past Port Jeff ahead of ferry PT Barnum  0638

Passing Bruce A. McAllister with Vane barge on the wire along North Fork 0937

Meeting ferry  John H near Plum Gut at 1002

Seeing a distant ferry Cape Henlopen (?) and  S/V Mystic Whaler off New London 1030

Many thanks to Chris.

UNREP from M/V Otter for second breakfast at 1035

Passing S & S yawl Black Watch off Fishers Island 1042

F/V Skipper off Point Judith Light 1259

Schooner Aurora near Newport  1352

Tortuga at rest as Warrior Sailing crew moves in 1615

 

Many thanks to Jonathan Kabak for the invitation.  All photos here by Will Van Dorp, and I have many more.

Click here for numbers on Long Island Sound.   Actually this trip involved the Sounds of Long Island, Block, and Rhode Island.