Hawser, Line and, Wire are Golden

The US Coast Guard has announced that on Thursday February 21, three 65-foot harbor tugs, Hawser, Line, and Wire, will run from the Saugerties Coast Guard Station on Esopus Creek to Walkway Over the Hudson connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland.  They are expected at 1PM at Walkway where they will congregate in celebration of 50 years of service providing safety, security and maritime mobility to New York, New Jersey and Hudson River waterways.  A Coast Guard Petty Officer will be on Walkway to help the public understand the Coast Guard's role on the Hudson River and associated waterways.

Hawser and Line are stationed at Bayonne, NJ; Wire is stationed at Saugerties, NY. Vessels in this class of 65-foot harbor tugs were built between 1962 and 1967 and are deployed on the east coast between Maine and Virginia.  They are named after deck fittings and associated gear.  Others are named Bollard, Cleat, Chock, Tackle, etc.  

I expect to spot and photograph the vessels from Saugerties on south and then I'll be on Walkway at 1PM.  Please join me on Walkway Over the Hudson to express our appreciation to the US Coast Guard for the tremendous service they provide our river and our communities.

Hawser

Line

Wire

Fore more information about the US Coast Guard's 65-foot harbor tugs visit:

http://www.uscg.mil/datasheet/65wytl.asp

All photos by Jeff Anzevino c2013 All Rights Reserved

Maryland's facelift

I received a call early yesterday morning from the Feeney Shipyard (Kingston, NY) reporting that work had been completed on Maryland and she was exiting Rondout Creek to transit the Hudson River.  I checked the AIS and rode my bicycle out onto Walkway Over the Hudson for these photos.  As a bonus, the McAllister Girls had just passed northbound. 

McAllister Girls (foreground) northbound and Maryland southbound

Maryland running light with a bone in her teeth

Maryland

Highland Landing in the background

Maryland in Walkway's shadow

Maryland southbound

According to Tim Feeney, "Kirby did a real nice job on her.  They brought her out of a lay up status, fully coated the hull and decks, coated all ballast tanks, removed and reconditioned both props and shafts, and dropped, inspected and repaired both rudders."  Maryland has benefitted by extensive steel renewal in the fore peak, galley deck, and after void spaces.  Feeney dropped all 12 keel coolers for cleaning and testing, removed from the hull all rubber fendering, most of which has been replaced anew.

The twin screw, 3,100hp tug will most likely start towing the barge Columbia for KIRBY when it arrives back from Maine later this week.

Maryland is a native New Yorker, launched 51 years ago in 1962 by Jakobson Shipyard in Oyster Bay (hull #406).  She sailed originally for Esso Shipping (Wilmington, DE) as Esso Maryland and was later renamed Exxon Maryland.

Eklof Marine Corporation of Staten Island purchased her and stripped Exxon from her name.

K-Sea Transportation acquired Eklof in 1993 and in 2011 K-Sea was bought out by Kirby, for whom she still serves as Maryland. 

Maryland (r) with Solomon Sea both in K-Sea colors at the Port Ewen anchorage

Maryland  pushes a barge with Coral Sea cutting a track through the ice

More information about Maryland is available here:
http://tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=250

Tug of the Day #1: Justine McAllister

My first installment of "Tug of the Day" features McAllister Towing and Transportation's Justine McAllister.

The Justine is a frequent flier and common sight on the Hudson River pushing or pulling RTC120 up to the Port of Albany.  Built in 1982 at the Jakobson Shipyard in Oyster Bay, NY, she sports an elevating wheelhouse capable of raising her height of eye to 45 feet.

But she looked anything but common on Sunday.  I could not believe my eyes when she appeared around the north end of Middle Ground Flats at Hudson in a somewhat unusual configuration escorting an empty barge downriver from Albany.  

She pushed the barge, attached alongside the tug--or at the hip--stern first because it handles better that way. Here she is approaching Walkway Over the Hudson.  Note that her wheelhouse in the elevated position affords the mate better visibility over the barge.

Bathed in sunlight and viewed from a lower vantage point, the Justine with her wheelhouse slightly raised, cruises northbound in Lange Rack near Poughkeepsie during the golden hour late last summer.

And here she is with her wheelhouse lowered towing RTC120 southbound through Walkway Over the Hudson's shadow (December 2011).

More information about the Justine McAllister is here at tugboatinformation.com:
http://tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=485

All photos Jeff Anzevino c2013

Zachery and Justine

Before the sun I rose, I packed my gear and headed out to Rhinecliff where I hoped to catch the Zachery Reinauer which had been holed up overnight at the Port Ewen anchorage.  Here just after sunrise she rounds Kingston Point with the Heritage Oil Terminal and former Hutton brickyard in the background.

Later, at about 9:45, she passed the Hudson Athens Light and Middle Ground Flats at Hudson.

Then came Justine McAllister, a tug I've photographed many times.  I am glad I waited for her because she pushed, stern first, a light barge at the hip.  Here she comes around Four Mile Point and then southbound past Hudson.

Sometimes, when you're tugspotting, a train comes by.  In this case I happened upon this freight train starting off in the Hudson yard.

I caught up with Justine at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.

And finally, back home, she rounds Rogers Point and Crum Elbow, motoring down Lange Rack under Walkway Over the Hudson.

Hudson River Shipping News 2/17/13

Morro Bay southbound at Poughkeepsie

Early this afternoon my AIS reported the 140-foot Coast Guard Icebreaker Morro Bay making haste southbound on the Hudson River and she had already passed Rogers Point and rounded Crum Elbow.  In a flash I bundled up, jumped on my bike and within five minutes sped out onto Walkway Over the Hudson where I was buffeted by 25 to 40 mph wind gusts and sub freezing temperatures.

Fortunately Morro Bay was trucking so I didn't have long to wait.  The north wind howled making the bridge sing and even blew my bike off its kickstand as I made these photos.

Here is some additional information about the Morro Bay. 
http://www.uscg.mil/tcyorktown/info/History/Cutters/morrobay.asp

This evening as I write Kirby's Lincoln Sea and Hornbeck's Liberty Service are passing northbound at Poughkeepsie.  And I see the Zachery Reinauer anchored off Port Ewen with several ships, Maersk Illinois, Ebroborg, and Saimaagracht and the tug Meredith Reinauer berthed at the Port of Albany.

I plan to set out before dawn tomorrow with temperatures forecast at 11 degrees to make some late winter icy river photos of these vessels.  Stay tuned.