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Let the roadies hit the stage
If July 4 2026 was one of busiest days ever for New York Harbor marine industry workers on the North River, Wednesday July 8 would not rank far below that as most of the ships gathered here for the America 250 events left within a few hours of each other. McALLISTER TOWING tugs were on hand at Pier 86 and the south side of Pier 88 to sail the USS Arlington and the tall ship Amerigo Vespucci while Moran Towing Corporation was busy on the north side of Pier 88.
Miller’s Launch boats helped some of the smaller tall ships leave and collected a trash barge from alongside the Arlington, while Stasinos Marine LLC tugs pulled the tank barge that had been there by the LPD all week. And that’s just what I could observe over the course of a few hours from one vantage point; similar activity was occurring at multiple piers all around New York Habor. Back to the usual tomorrow.
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Staying out of the way
The Christian Reinauer/RTC 145 ATB, one of the biggest units in the Reinauer fleet, spent July 4 weekend anchored just outside the harbor off Atlantic Highlands. But on Monday afternoon amid persistent lousy weather she came back in and moved up the North River, passing anchored naval ships and the Coast Guard Cutter Stone as she headed for anchorage off Yonkers.
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Out of town helper
Assist tugboats are in heavy demand in New York Harbor this week, with more than 40 tall ships and 40 naval vessels needing various degrees of docking or mooring help in addition to the normal activities of the Port of New York/New Jersey. It is not surprising that out-of-town tugs have been brought in, including Roderick McAllister normally based in Portland, Maine. The 59-year-old Roderick arrived in New York Harbor on July 1 and has been on hand at Pier 88 since Sunday, tied up alongside a tank barge which is servicing the USS Arlington LPD 24.
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A big day on the North River
Saturday was probably one of the busiest days ever on the old North River and it would take a week to post all the photos I took, but here are some that I was happiest with. Please forgive the color balance adjustments on the photo of the B-52/B-1/B-2 but needed in order to see the planes clearly.
©2024 Daniel Katzive Uncategorized -
Stage crew
There will be a lot of cameras trained on the old North River this weekend and most will be focused on the naval vessels and tall ships and maybe on the security boats, but hopefully some will also spare attention for our local New York Harbor marine industry workers without whom none of this would be possible. Tugs and tenders have been and will continue to work hard through the weekend, performing ship assists, helping to build docking facilities, delivering boarding barges and fresh water, collecting trash, bunkering, and much more.
On Friday, the SUNY Maritime training ship Empire State arrived on the North River to anchor off Pier 99 while the Maine Maritime Academy’s similar State of Maine vessel took position off Battery Park. These vessels are training future generations of U.S. merchant mariners some of whom will presumably come back to New York Harbor for their careers. After the weekend ceremonies conclude, Empire State will continue up the Hudson to visit Port of Albany, a rare upriver trip for SUNY Maritime.
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The visitors arrive
Naval vessels attending the July 4 International Naval Review began arriving on the North River Thursday morning and taking up anchorage positions where they will remain for the weekend.
The US Coast Guard Cutter Stone, a 418-foot Legend class national security cutter headquartered in Charleston, got prime position just off the Boat Basin. A bit further north is Moroccan navy frigate Mohammed VI. Further north still is German frigate Sachsen, and off 125th Street lies the smaller Senegalese offshore patrol ship Niani.
In the afternoon, the Brazilian frigate Indepdencia arrived and took up position to the south of the Niani. The ships will be reviewed by a the US destroyer Farragut, the flagship, on Saturday, and then will have front row seats as the Sail4th 250 tall ships parade up to the bridge. The anchored ships have barges tied alongside to facilitate boarding via gangplanks.
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First arrival
USS Arlington LPD 24 docked at Pier 86 The first big ship to arrive for the 250th Independence Day celebrations docked at Pier 88 on Wednesday afternoon. The amphibious transport dock USS Arlington LPD 24 came up from Norfolk a few days early. McAllister tugs were on hand to assist wearing America 250 decals and flags. Security was tight at the cruise terminal, and the U.S. Navy port security boat in town for the weekend had machine guns mounted, as did the Sandy Hook cutter Bonito and a 29-foot response boat from Staten Island.
Ellen McAllister returning to the harbor after assisting 
Lining the helicopter deck 
Coast Guard 29-foot response boat from Sector New York 
Navy port security boat 
Sandy Hook cutter Bonito -
Dress rehearsals
U.S. Navy port security patrol boat With less than a week until the July 4 naval review and tall ship parade, preparations are underway on land and on the water. A number of the agencies which will be contributing to security operations for the events had boats on the North River Monday, probably for familiarization and rehearsal purposes.
Westchester County Police marine unit
The U.S. Navy appears to have brought in a port security patrol boat, probably based at one of the naval bases on the East Coast, and the Westchester County Police marine unit’s Tarrytown-based boat also came down-river as far as the cruise terminal before returning to its usual jurisdiction. Also on the river were some local security boats, including a Coast Guard 48-foot response boat from Sector New York base on Staten Island, the 89-foot Coast Guard patrol boat cutter Bonito based at Sandy Hook, and a New Jersey State Police boat.
New Jersey State Police 
Coast Guard 45-foot response boat 
Coast Guard cutter Bonito 
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Equipment move
Stasinos tug Toula C and the small tug Jessica Francis brought a crane barge down the North River on Saturday afternoon. They were heading back to the harbor after leaving the basin between Pier 90 and 92 where an additional temporary finger pier, Pier 91, composed of spud barges is being constructed to dock visiting tall ships next weekend. Jessica is back at Pier 91 as of Monday morning.
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Home away from home
A sail down to the Upper Bay Saturday found the GCS 230 barge stored on one of the moorings on the Greenville flats. We typically see GCS 230 tied up at North River Pier 98 during the winter months where it is used to hold backup fuel for Con Ed’s 59th Street steam plan, but that pier has been vacant since temperatures began warming this spring. GCS 230 was built locally, one of the last vessels to be constructed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Observations on the Hudson River as it passes through New York City. The section of the Hudson which passes through New York is historically known as the North River, called this by the Dutch to distinguish it from the Delaware River, which they knew as the South River. This stretch of the Hudson is still often referred to as the North River by local mariners today. All photos copyright Daniel Katzive unless otherwise attributed. For more frequent updates, please follow northriverblog on Facebook or Instagram.
North River Notes 