The Newtown Pentacle

- photo by Mitch Waxman

It’s Tugboat Sunday at the Newtown Pentacle, so let’s shine a little light on K-Sea’s Ross Sea. Named for the infamous Antarctic waters explored by Roald Amundsen, the ship is one of the newer tugs plying the waters of NY Harbor.

from k-sea.com

K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P., headquartered in East Brunswick, New Jersey, is a leading provider of marine transportation, distribution and logistics services in the U.S. From locations in New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Seattle and Honolulu, K-Sea operates a large fleet of tugs and tank barges that serves a wide range of customers, including major oil companies, oil traders and refiners.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

The Ross Sea, or specifically the Penguin infested Ross Island, is home to two volcanos which bear the dearest nomenclature of all geologic forms upon the earth- the polygenetic stratovolcano Mount Erebus, and the shield volcano Mount Terror.

The latter infernal mountain is mentioned in both the Poe Novella “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket” and H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness” as well (although Lovecraft’s Mountains are in Western Antarctica, and assumed to be at least 1,000 KM from the Ross Sea).

for all the technical data, manufacturing history, and more photos of K-Sea’s Ross Sea- check out tugboatinformation.com

- photo by Mitch Waxman

The Ross Sea, as in the Antarctic, is named for explorer Sir James Clark Ross. An Englishman, Ross led an expedition to the frozen south in two wooden ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror- for which the volcanoes were named. The astounding Ross Ice Shelf is named for him, although he christened the formation as “The Victoria Barrier”.

It must be mentioned that Ross Sea, as in the Tugboat, was the winner of the 2011 Great North River Tugboat Race,

from workingharbor.com

The Great North River Race Results

1. Ross Sea – Class A 1st place – Time: 4:44 

2. Quantico Creek – Class A 2nd Place – Time: 4:55
3. Maurania III – Class A 3rd Place – Time: 4:55.5
4. Catherine Miller – Class C 1st Place – Time: 5:54
5. Pegasus – Class B 1st Place – Time: 5:56
6. Susan Miller – Class C 2nd Place – Time: 6:09.
7. Growler – Class C 3rd Place – Time: 6:13
8. Freddie K. Miller – Class B 2nd Place – Time: 6:29
9. Sea Wolf – Class B 3rd Place – Time: 6:48 Best Tatoo (Wayne)

10. The Bronx – Did Not Race Little Toot Award & best mascot

- photo by Mitch Waxman

A question I’ve often heard asked often about Tugs with the sort of configuration that Ross Sea exhibits, a second wheel house atop the mast, is “why it is thus”?

Short answer is that it enables the pilot and or Captain the ability to see over a barge whose own height occludes the way forward.

from wikipedia

The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf. Roald Amundsen started his South Pole expedition in 1911 from the Bay of Whales, which was located at the shelf. In the west of the Ross sea, McMurdo Sound is a port which is usually free of ice during the summer. The southernmost part of the Ross Sea is Gould Coast, which is approximately two hundred miles from the Geographic South Pole.

All land masses in the Ross Sea are claimed by New Zealand to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ross Dependency, but few non-Commonwealth nations recognise this claim.

A 10 metre (32.8 feet) long colossal squid weighing 495 kilograms (1,091 lb) was captured in the Ross Sea on February 22, 2007.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

Another DonJon tug is in the spotlight today, this time it’s the Paul Andrew. It’s pictured above at Port Elizabeth Newark, moving a barge past one of the gargantuan cargo docks which distinguish the place.

from wikipedia

The Port of New York was really eleven ports in one. It boasted a developed shoreline of over 650 miles (1,050 km) comprising the waterfronts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island as well as the New Jersey shoreline from Perth Amboy to Elizabeth, Bayonne, Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and Weehawken. The Port of New York included some 1,800 docks, piers, and wharves of every conceivable size, condition, and state of repair. Some 750 were classified as “active” and 200 were able to berth 425 ocean-going vessels simultaneously in addition to the 600 able to anchor in the harbor. These docks and piers gave access to 1,100 warehouses containing some 41,000,000 square feet (3,800,000 m2) of inclosed storage space.

The SS Normandie arriving in New York Harbor on maiden voyage escorted by several tugboats.

In addition, the Port of New York had thirty-nine active shipyards, not including the huge New York Naval Shipyard on the Brooklyn side of the East River. These facilities included nine big ship repair yards, thirty-six large dry-docks, twenty-five small shipyards, thirty-three locomotive and gantry cranes of fifty ton lift capacity or greater, five floating derricks, and more than one hundred tractor cranes. Over 575 tugboats worked the Port of New York.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

These shots were acquired while onboard one of the many Working Harbor Committee tours of industrial Newark Bay and environs in September of 2011, which explains the glorious lighting.

Autumn is one of the times of the year in New York City during which the angle of the sun creates a golden orange “theatrical lighting” effect.

from wikipedia

The port consists of a complex of approximately 240 miles (386 km) of shipping channels as well as anchorages and port facilities. Most vessels require pilotage and larger vessels require tugboat assistance for the sharper channel turns. The natural depth of the harbor is about 17 feet (5 m), but it had been deepened over the years, to about 24 feet (7 m) controlling depth in 1880.[12] By 1891 the Main Ship Channel was minimally 30 feet (9 m). In 1914 Ambrose Channel became the main entrance to the Harbor, at 40 feet (12 m) deep and 2,000 feet (600 m) wide. During World War II the main channel was dredged to 45 feet (14 m) depth to accommodate larger ships up to Panamax size. Currently the Corps of Engineers is contracting out deepening to 50 feet (15 m), to accommodate Post-Panamax container vessels, which can pass through the Suez Canal. This has been a source of environmental concern along channels connecting the container facilities in Port Newark to the Atlantic. PCBs and other pollutants lay in a blanket just underneath the soil. In June 2009 it was announced that 200,000 cubic yards of dredged PCBs would be “cleaned” and stored en masse at the site of the former Yankee Stadium, as well as at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. In many areas the sandy bottom has been excavated down to rock and now requires blasting. Dredging equipment then picks up the rock and disposes of it. At one point in 2005 there were 70 pieces of dredging equipment working to deepen channels, the largest fleet of dredging equipment anywhere in the world.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

Writing this in the depth of frozen January, your humble narrator literally aches for the shirt sleeve warmth and long hours of sunlight offered during other seasons. The “photographer’s way” of course is to adapt, improvise, and “get it”, of course- but I truly pine for warmer (and brighter) times right now.

from tugboatinformation.com

Built in 1968, by Breaux’s Bay Craft of Loreauville, Louisiana as the tug Miss Holly.

The tug was later acquired by DonJon Marine of Hillside, New Jersey where she was renamed as the Paul Andrew.

She is a twin screw tug powered by two Cummins KTA 19-M3 main engines with two Twin Disc MG 516 reduction gears at a ratio of 6:1 turning two 19(ft) 304 stainless steel 5 1/2 diameter 62(in) by 46(in) propellers for a rated 1,200 horsepower. Her electrical service is provided by two 30 kw generators driven by DD 3-71 engines 120-208 Triple Phase.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

The shot of the Paul Andrew above is from a Working Harbor trip even earlier in the year, August as a matter of fact. As a note, it is hitched up to a different sort of barge, and is tied up in a “on the hip” configuration.

Man, I can’t wait for the thaw.

from donjon.com

DIMENSIONS
Length Overall: 68 ft./ 20.73 m
Length Design Load Waterline: 63.6 ft./ 19.39 m
Beam Molded Amidships: 23.0 ft./ 7.01 m
Depth Molded to Main Deck: 9.0 ft./ 2.74 m
Tonnage (Gross): 99 GRT
Tonnage (Net): 67 NRT

CONSTRUCTION
All Steel

PROPULSION & STEERING
Main Engines: (2) Cummins KTA 19-M3 1,200 bhp
Propellers:  (2) 19 ft. 304 Stainless Steel, 5½ diameter, 62 inch x 46 inch
Gears: Twin Disc MG 516, 6:1 Ratio
Rudders: (2) Spade
Steering Stations: Pilothouse, Upper Wheelhouse, Aft

PERFORMANCE
Speed (Free Route): 10 knots
Speed (Cruising): 8 knots
Bollard Pull:12 tons
Fuel Use/Range (Towing): 41 gph / 17 days
Fuel Use/Range (Cruising): 25 gph / 28 days

- photo by Mitch Waxman

Recently witnessed, the Reinauer Towing tugboat Matthew Tibbets maneuvering a fuel barge through the languid expanse of the legend choked Newtown Creek.

Just a short one today, still playing catch up from a recent bout with some unknown and untrammeled organism, which is best thought of as some mere virus.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

Another one of NY Harbor’s towing companies whose craft are a delight to behold is DonJon Marine.

They operate a fleet of sky blue tugs whose capabilities range from canal and river tugs all the way up to a gargantuan oceanic tug which is called Atlantic Salvor.

Today, the focus is on DonJon’s Cheyenne, which is one of their smaller tugs. That’s her, moving past Wards Island and passing beneath the Hells Gate Bridge.

from donjon.com

Founded in 1964 by Mr. J. Arnold Witte, Donjon’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Donjon Marine’s principal business activities were marine salvage, marine transportation, and related services. Today Donjon Marine is a true provider of multifaceted marine services. Donjon’s controlled expansion into related businesses such as dredging, ferrous and non-ferrous recycling and heavy lift services are a natural progression, paralleling our record of solid technical and cost-effective performance.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

Cheyenne is older than I am, yet manages to get to work every day, unlike me.

DonJon serves as one of the integral components of New York Harbor’s system for moving recyclable commodities from curb to customer, and can often be spotted moving barges of metallic waste between DSNY collection points.

I first became aware of the company’s role in the process after spotting them at the SimsMetal Newtown Creek docks a few years ago.

from tugboatinformation.com

Built in 1965, by Ira S. Bushey and Sons of Brooklyn, New York (hull #628) as the tug Glenwood for Red Star Towing.

In 1970, she was acquired by Spentonbush Towing where she was renamed as the Cheyenne

The tug was later acquired by Amerada Hess where she retained her name.

She was then acquired by Empire Harbor Marine where the tug retained her name. The company would later be renamed as Port Albany Ventures.

In 2009, Port Albany Ventures was acquired by the DonJon Marine Company of Hillside, New Jersey. 

- photo by Mitch Waxman

A dirty and necessary industry, recycling is nothing like you would imagine it to be. University professors, environmentalists, and politicians present an image of something akin to Santa’s Elves in crisp white uniforms working in an antiseptic factory isolated from population centers. The reality is that it is performed by oil streaked and smoke belching heavy machinery, consumes far more fuel than you would imagine, and that it is quite a dangerous occupation (also, the concentration and processing of these metals carries dark implications for groundwater and air quality in the localities which it takes place in).

Green jobs of the future indeed.

from wikipedia

The scrap industry contributed $65 billion in 2006 and is one of the few contributing positively to the U.S. balance of trade, exporting $15.7 billion in scrap commodities in 2006. This imbalance of trade has resulted in rising scrap prices during 2007 and 2008 within the United States. Scrap recycling also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserves energy and natural resources. For example, scrap recycling diverts 145,000,000 short tons (129,464,286 long tons; 131,541,787 t) of materials away from landfills. Recycled scrap is a raw material feedstock for 2 out of 3 pounds of steel made in the U.S., for 60% of the metals and alloys produced in the U.S., for more than 50% of the U.S. paper industry’s needs, and for 33% of U.S. aluminum. Recycled scrap helps keep air and water cleaner by removing potentially hazardous materials and keeping them out of landfills.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

Not meaning to sound negative on this otherwise essential service, it’s just that as certain highly placed municipal employees have advised me in the past- “Be careful which laws you ask for, as some things may come only at too great a cost”.

If it costs ten gallons of fuel to recycle and reuse something which it would have cost five gallons of fuel to pull out of the ground… what are we actually saving?

from wikipedia

The tugboat is one symbol of New York. Along with its more famous icons of Lady Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge, the sturdy little tugs, once all steam powered, working quietly in the harbor became a sight in the city.

The first hull was the paddler tug Rufus W. King of 1828.

New York Harbor at the confluence of the East River, Hudson River, and Atlantic Ocean is among the world’s largest natural harbors and was chosen in the 17th century as the site of New Amsterdam for its potential as a port. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 to the upper Hudson River ensured that New York would be the center of trade for the Eastern Seaboard, and as a result, the city boomed. At the port’s peak in the period of 1900-1950, ships moved millions of tons of freight, immigrants, millionaires, and GI service men serving in wars.

Sheparding the traffic around the harbor were hundreds of tugs–over 700 steam tugs worked the harbor in 1929. Firms such as McAllister, and Moran Tugs came into the business. Cornelius Vanderbilt started his empire with a sailboat and went on to greatness with the New York Central Railroad, incidentally owning many tugs.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

This Tug, the Gramma Lee T. Moran, was mentioned in a Newtown Pentacle posting of November 26- “loose and displaced“. As it’s one of my favorite tugs in New York Harbor to shoot, I felt a little bad that the starring role in that posting had gone to a cargo ship- and that Gramma Lee T. Moran had to share the second banana position with another Moran Tug- the estimable Marion Moran.

Can’t tell you why I like the esthetics of this ship so much, nor can I say why exactly it always reminds me of the Millennium Falcon (from the Star Wars movies) as it slides along the Kill Van Kull.

from wikipedia

The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long and 1,000 feet (305 m) wide separating Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey, USA. The name kill comes from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning “riverbed” or “water channel.”

Kill Van Kull connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the eastern end. Historically it has been one of the most important channels for the commerce of the region, providing a passage for marine traffic between Manhattan and the industrial towns of New Jersey. Since the final third of the 20th century, it has provided the principal access for ocean-going container ships to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the busiest port facility in the eastern United States and the principal marine terminal for New York Harbor.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

These two shots are from just a few months ago, captured in the fall of 2011. It’s always odd seeing a tugboat operating without a barge, or tending a larger vessel which can be hundreds of times larger than itself. The majesty of these ships, and their crews, come alive when they are tasked with bearing such sisyphean burdens.

Can you imagine what it must be like guiding a fuel tanker into the narrow Kill Van Kull or down the East River? It must take nerves of steel to muster the confidence needed to Captain such tasks.

from tugboatenthusiastsociety.org

Tugs are “displacement” hull vessels, the hull is designed so water flows around it, there is no consideration for having the vessel “plane”. Because of this the hull form is limited to a maximum speed when running “free” that is about 1.5 times the square root of the waterline length. As the tug approaches this speed when running “free” it is perched between the bow wave and the stern wave. Since the hull cannot plane, application of additional power when approaching maximum hull speed only results in a larger bow wave, with the tug “squatting” further into the trough.

- photo by Mitch Waxman

The shot above, and the one below are from earlier in 2011- April to be exact.

Moran is a well established company which operates tugs all over North America. A century and a half old, the company’s fleet can be found on the USA’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts and within the Great Lakes, both along the west coast of- and in the Gulf of- Mexico, and within the inland waters of the eastern United States. They’ve been known to operate periodically as far away as the Caribbean Sea and South American waters.

from morantug.com

The LEE T. MORAN is an expression of brute power and utility that belies the refinements of technical engineering below her waterline. There, twin ports are cut into the steel hull to make room for the tug’s Z-drive units. On the floor of the shop they look like the lower units of giant outboard engines. Made by Ulstein, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce, the Z-drive functions much like an outboard. Imagine two outboards extending straight down through the hull, each having the ability to rotate 360 degrees. That makes even a heavy, 92-foot tug with a 450-ton displacement very maneuverable. “It can turn on a dime,” says Doughty. “The hull bottom is slightly flatter to adjust to the two drive units. By turning each drive out 90 degrees, the captain can go from full-ahead (14 knots) to a dead stop in no time.”

- photo by Mitch Waxman

Perhaps it’s the low slung aspect of the wheelhouse, or the gentle curves observed in its hull… I can’t say, but there is just something pleasing about the design of this boat. A big toot goes out from this, your Newtown Pentacle, to one of my favorite citizens of the NY Harbor- the Gramma Lee T. Moran.

from tugboatinformation.com

Moran Towing began operations in 1860 when founder Michael Moran opened a towing brokerage, Moran Towing and Transportation Company, in New York Harbor. In 1863, the company was transformed from a brokerage into an owner-operator of tugboats when it purchased a one-half interest in the tugboat Ida Miller for $2,700. Over time Moran acquires a fleet of tugboats. It was Michael Moran who painted the first white “M” on a Moran tugboat stack, in 1880.