Retro Sixth Boro 44 B

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.

 

Government Boats 57

I have to go back over 14 years to find the previous appearance of Tybee on this blog.  Is she still based in Woods Hole?  Has she been here and I just missed it?  I can’t say.  I would say she rolls . . .

The groupbrain internet says she’s still based in Woods Hole, all except earlier this week. 

 

SSG Michael H. Ollis continues her training runs in the Upper Bay.  I’m eager to catch my first ride aboard her.

At least when her sisters show up, crews will be trained, having done their orientations aka Familiarization 101 aboard Ollis. Anyone know ETA of next of the class?

And finally, I was thrilled to catch Susan Miller and Gabby escorting retired FDNY Alfred E. Smith to another berth.  I forgot to follow up, so I don’t know where Smith is currently located.  Anyone help?

I was fortunate to catch her with backgrounds Pier A and

the Colgate Clock. 

All photos, WVD.

Unrelated:  I’m planning a post on the 1946 Matton-built tugboat that carried the following names:  Margaret Matton, Fort Lauderdale, Evening Light, Hudson, and Chyanne Rose.  As Hudson, she worked for Reinauer/BTT from 1978 until 2005.  She came up recently in a conversation about running oil up the Passaic as far as Wallington, and I’d love to collect stories.  Please help out with stories and photos if you can.

 

Small Craft 28

So in a recent post, you had a glimpse of this small craft, which I initially thought was a fishing boat.   I know how addictive fishing can be, since I used to ice fish and canoe fish.

But it turned out to be Lynn, a Ken‘s boat, used for line and boom handling. I’d not before noticed that some of these small boats have names.

Another boom and line handling company, ACV Enviro, also has names on their boat.  Meet Miss Urvi, an interesting name in several ways.

Here’s Miss Urvi showing my bow on a foggy day.

An intriguing small craft departed the Narrows yesterday.  Where is it headed I wonder.  It looked to be no more than 35′ and the name might be Sirius.

I’m not sure who operates Grace D, but she’s been in the harbor for the better part of a decade doing launch service.

 

Head on . . . who is this survey boat?  Notice the up fold-down transponder on the bow between the hulls.

It’s USACE.  I believe it’s a Silver Ship boat.

At first, I didn’t know what I was looking at when I saw six knees.  Sure, Gabby I knew and I saw a small boat to starboard,

but

there were two alongside, one on each side.  And on the far side, it’s Mister “B”...   a new one for me.

So it is.  All photos, WVD.

Don’t Swing that Thing

A few weeks ago, I noticed the orange structures, comfort stations for the workers at the VZ Bridge.  Given the ladders from the underside of the roadbed to the orange privy, I wondered how long it would take for a bathroom break.

 

Some days later, I was social distancing inmy car and noticed Gabby approach.

Movement caught my attention;  the crane swiveled around and the orange privy swung out . . .

It happened again and

again.

Since it was a windy day, an overfilled privy might be . . .

unpleasant.

Yet all transpired without incident or irrigation on old Fort Lafayette.  It was a professional job.

Photos, WVD.

 

Random Tugs 277

Today it’s all light, technically.  Other than that, this set is all sizes, all ages, all powers, and all shapes.

Let’s start with  Gabby L., built in 2007 (?), 25.9′ x 13.7′, and rated as 660 hp.

Comparing that, check out Genesis Vigilant, which I first met as Michigan Service, (same order of numbers) 1981, 89′ x 28′, and 3000 hp.

Emily Ann, ex-Solomon Sea, ex-Brandon Roehrig and ex-Diane Roehrig, 1964, 89′ x 28′, and also 3000 hp.

Sea Fox, 2012, 69′ x 24′, and 1400 hp.

Joyce D. Brown, 2002, 78′ x 26′, and 2600 hp.

Fleetmate Thomas J. Brown, 1962, 61′ x 19′, and 1000 hp.

As I said before, technically light but about to engage the Seaspan ship, Jonathan C, 2016, 89′ x 38′, and 6000 hp.

And since we started out with Gabby L, let’s end there also, but you may have to look carefully to the left of the VZ bridge towers . . . . to spot her.  As I said before . . . all shapes and sizes, but they all work a niche in the sixth boro.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Winds of November 2

I didn’t hear any wind speeds for yesterday, but it was blowing . . . winds of November according to the date, but fortunately not a November witch.

Chem Wolverine scudded through the Bay,

Kings Point went on with her routine,

Gabby Miller returned to home base,

Joyce aimed for the Kills,

Mister T slung a scow, 

Crystal pushed Patricia E. Poling,

ONE Ibis had some containers shuffled after spending time off Long Beach,

Fort Schuyler dispatched Double Skin 30,

and Chem Wolverine, on her way to Albany, passed Dace Reinauer.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who wishes a safe day to all.

Previous excessively windy days posts can be found here.

First of a New Class: Big Lizzie

Her first steel was laid down almost a decade ago, and here she is pirouetting for New Yorkers.  Carriers tend to have these offset superstructures.  I wonder how it feels to be far-to-starboard in rough seas.  To see the commander in his seat of power, click here.

This ship was christened with a bottle of perfectly good Bowmore whisky, produced by a distillery established not long after US independence.  Of course, today it’s not wholly Scottish owned, if I read this correctly.

Ah . . . the ski jump!  To see F-35 pilots landing and taking off, click here.

Along the port side, the lines are relatively unbroken.

Here, thanks to Michele Fitzgerald McMorrow, is a close-up of the bridge.

Shuttling ship-shore is a passenger vessel I’ve not seen before,

Cosmo, built 1968,

but I know little else about her, although I love the paint scheme.

 

An unobstructed view from the stern shows her size and the sheer of the ski-jump.

 

Comparing the view of her port side to this emphasizes the offset superstructure.

That looks like Gabby Miller supporting the deck barge.

Thanks to Michele for use of her photo;  all others by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Tugs 232

Let’s start here as a quiz.  Name that tug?  Answer follows.  The blurriness is a clue to the vintage . . . of the photo.  More oldies at the end of this post.

Here’s an unusual treatment of name boards.  Can anyone clarify why the 6140 hp J. George Betz is the only Bouchard boat wit this treatment?

 

I suspected it was Betz when I noticed her here, but had to look more closely to verify.  I believe this is the first time for me to label–if not see–the B. No. 235 barge.

Gulf Venture . . .I’ve not often seen this 5150 hp boat light.  Question:  Does Gulf Venture currently work for John Stone?

Ernest Campbell departs MOTBY here, her mast perfectly shown against the Putin monument . . .  he did come here for the dedication.

Gabby L. Miller .  . she’s not been on the blog in a while.   This 660 hp tug gives the right push at the right time in the right place sometimes.

The 2000 hp Eric R. Thornton dates from 1960, making her the oldest tug in this post except

More oldies.  This is Marion, although I have no information on where and when it was built.  Marion was one of two tugs operated by Disston and June Marine Construction, previously called Burcroft Marine Construction Company. Their other tug was Constructor. Marion sank in Weedsport, although I can’t find that date.

This tug may still be afloat.

It’s Morania No. 8 pushing Morania No. 170 barge.  Has anyone seen her in Port-au-Prince Haiti?  I wonder if this was a company slogan or something displayed more widely.  I’ve never heard it.

The mystery tug, believe it or not, is Buffalo, somewhere in the Erie Canal.  Click here for a few good photos of Buffalo taken by Tim Hetrick back in 2014.   Maybe someone can put a date of the photo by taking into account the color.

All photos except Buffalo by Will Van Dorp.   All the oldies here are by Steve Wunder.

 

GWA1: Narragansett Bay to the Sixth Boro

GWA stands “go[ing] west again,”  the next set of posts all attempting to catch myself and maybe you up, if you’re following along, with random and I hope interesting photos from the past almost three weeks.  I realize that catching up is impossible, and in this case while I had vacated the sixth boro, big stuff happened.

A word that comes to mind is protean– named for Proteus.  Type “define: protean” into google and you’ll appreciate why it’s difficult to catch up.  But here goes.

Within a half hour of departing Warren RI, we pass Naema and

Lionheart.  Do check the links.  Either would be worthy of a post in itself.

And still north of the Rte 138 bridge, we see NOAA R/V Henry B Bigelow.

On the cusp of Block Island Sound, we encounter inbound Atlantic Pioneer, where you’d expect her returning from a run. Here’s a post I did almost exactly two years ago when Atlantic Pioneer components still needed to be combined at the shipyard.

A bit further, it’s Carol Jean and Islander, both Block Island bound, although one will arrive much before the other.

By now, we’re into Long Island Sound and being overtaken by darkness.  That’s Atlantic Navigator II as a speck heading toward us.

This dawn photo found us within NYC and approaching the East river.  It’s Fort Totten, designed for the entire US by Robert E Lee.  Here could be a dilemma:  there’s no debate that I know of of striking his name from the credits for this fort.

We pass HuntsPoint Produce Market,

the floating pool,

Marty C–a Weeks tug I’ve never seen,

the “north end” of Roosevelt Island with the Blackwell Island Light,

Gabby L Miller pushing past Cornell Tech‘s yet-to-be used buildings,

the Brooklyn Navy yard with Asphalt Sailor and –I believe– the old Great Point,

swimmers in the water doing a Manhattan circumnatation,

and–let’s end it here for today–a yacht  named  Vava II.  Here’s info on her owner.

Protean  . . . day 1?  It’s not even over, and I think so.

Lots more to come.

 

Sixth Boro Summer 4

As I went to one of my locations Thursday, I saw this tow headed up the Upper Bay toward Bayonne, and lamented being too late.  I knew it was one of the new DSNY garbage cranes recently being deployed to new marine transfer stations in Manhattan & SW Brooklyn…

Panning slightly to the right, a group on Miller’s Launch boats were attending Afrodite . . .

Panning more than 90 degrees over past the VZ Bridge, I noticed a crane and some tugs over in the direction of Coney Island . . .

Shortly thereafter, I realized the sanitation cranes were returning . . . outbound, moved by Catherine C. Miller.

The next day, from the same vantage point, I noticed two large tugs in Gravesend Bay, one less familiar than the Moran tug.

The unusual stacks identified it immediately . . . Lauren Foss, which I had not seen since 2014, three and a half years ago here….  By the way, notice the ferris wheel and roller coaster on the skyline of Coney Island?

If you’re new to reading this blog, the high point of summer in the sixth boro shoreside for me is the first day, because it brings the mermaids ashore, a whole series of posts about which you can find here . . .

But back to Lauren Foss, a large oceangoing tug used for large barges.  RORO barge American Trader , 400′ x 105′ qualifies as a large barge, although some of the Crowley container barges are larger as seen here and here.

Click here for the specs on the 8200 hp Lauren Foss.

CCA . . . here’s info on this busy but mostly invisible corporation that dates back to the Reagan era.

Here’s the scoop on McLaren Engineering.

 

The sixth boro is truly the part of NYC that never sleeps.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.