Posts Tagged ‘Tugboat’
sizable rift
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– photo by Mitch Waxman
This Maritime Sunday posting presents the crossing of the Kill Van Kull by two tugs of the Coastline Marine Towing Corporation. They are moving a crane barge from points unknown to some destination at the Port Elizabeth Newark complex. Said shots were captured while onboard a Working Harbor Committee expedition during the summer of 2012. As you can see, it was a dark and stormy night.
from coastlinemarinetowing.com
Coastline Marine Towing has been serving the New York-Metro Harbors and US Eastern Seaboard for 20 years. We provide experienced crew and vessels that are ready to accommodate the logistics of your marine project.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Little information is available on the tug Ireland, although a friend of mine asserts that it’s a 1940 vintage vessel. It did not display radio call sign information on its hull, which would have aided me in discerning its past and capabilities. The radio call sign, for maritime vessels, performs the same function which a license plate does for motor vehicles.
from workingharbor.com
Whether it’s a single barge, a group of barges made up as a single unit, or a vessel, when being moved by a tugboat, it’s called the “tow” (singular). A tug can move a tow in one of three different ways:
- Astern – The tug pulls the tow via a tow line from the stern of the tug. This is common for ocean towing but less used in confined harbors as it may be difficult to keep the tow from swinging side to side.
- Pushing – The tug ties off behind the tow, and pushes it forward. This provides a greater deal of control compared to towing astern.
- Alongside (on the hip) – The tug ties up alongside the tow, typically aft of the midpoint of the tow. This method also provides a good deal of control.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The capabilities of google are confounded when a search term like “Tug Ireland” is offered to it. Lacking syntax, the algorithms of the search giant deliver a cogent result describing the coastal towing capabilities of a European nation state rather than those which would define and encapsulate the history of a single tugboat. Nevertheless, a hearty Maritime Sunday shout out is sent to both the faraway coast of an Emerald Island and to the crew of a singular tugboat alike.
also from workingharbor.com
Port refers to the left hand side of a vessel as you face forward and starboard refers to the right hand side. Before the rudder was invented (by the Chinese), boats and ships were steered by means of a steering board. Since most people are right handed, it was customary to mount the steering board on the right hand side of the ship. This, the right hand side became know as the “steering board” side, which was eventually shortened to “starboard” side, and this term is still in use today.
caravan route
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From the 2010 archives emerge these shots, depicting employees of the estimable Moran company displaying their knowledge of applied physics.
The two tugs, Turecamo Girls and Marie J. Turecamo, work in concert against the tidal forces of the East River and the inertia of a loaded cargo ship. The mathematics of what is going on in these photos would be staggering to work out, but the Tug crews prefer not to over think things and “just get it done”.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Maritime professionals live in a somewhat four dimensional world. It’s not necessarily about the “X, Y, and Z” axes of your current position, rather its how those three factors will contribute to your situation as you move through space over time. Where you’re headed and how fast you are moving is rather more important than where you are now. As mentioned above- applied physics.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Imagine it, coordinating the position of hundreds of tons of steel blindly, as it is simultaneously affected by tide and wind. Your goal is to move the thing into a precise position with a tolerance of less than a foot or two of the dock, and the effort needs to be seamlessly performed not just by you but by a partner vessel working in concert. This maritime sunday, your humble narrator is overwhelmed just thinking about the calculations of the forces at work.
terrible gateway
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last Maritime Sunday of 2012 brings the estimable Buchanan 1 before you. A 1967 era tug, it is still observed navigating the Harbor of New York and New Jersey even in the dross modernity of 2012. Notice that in the shot above, it wears a different paint job than the shots below.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just the facts: Buchanan 1 was built in 1967. 89.4 length, 12 draft, and 28.1 beam, she weighs 191 Gross Tons, and is actuated by twin screws supplying 2,200 HP. tugboatinformation.com has a bit more of her story, which can be accessed by clicking here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A hearty Maritime Sunday shout out is sent to the crew of the boat, the last time this year that any such message will be sent.
radiant energy
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once more doth the angels sing, and the devil weepeth, for the holiday season springs forth upon us. Since most of y’all are either traveling somewhere or busy with final preparations for the annual gorging, lets take it a bit easy this Maritime Sunday, and admire the estimable Captain D tug hauling a dredge down the Kill Van Kull.
Tonight is Festivus, by the way, and I’m accepting donations for the Human Fund. Make the checks out to me, I’ll see that your donations go where they will do the most good.
acclaimed songs
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Early preparations for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday necessitated a trip to a certain big box grocer located in Long Island City on Friday. Unfortunately, a slightly strained muscle in my back was pushed all the way from “uncomfortable” to “spasming” by the trip, wherein mass quantities of food stuffs were laboriously carried up the stairs to the walk up apartment quarters shared by “Our Lady of the Pentacle” and myself with our little dog. Accordingly, this post is being offered by a massively distracted narrator. The dog was particularly enthused when she realized that part of the horde of consumer products transported into the apartment included a 15 pound supply of Milkbone brand dog biscuits.
Built in 1973, by McDermott Shipyard of Morgan City, Louisiana (hull #179) as the Amy Moran for the Moran Towing Corporation of Greenwich, Connecticut. The tug is fitted with an elevating wheelhouse. She is a twin screw tug rated at 3,000 horsepower.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a poor showing at maintaining regular updates in the latter half of 2011, resolutions to hold this- your Newtown Pentacle- to a daily schedule were made, and so far in 2012 only one day has come and gone without an update. Luckily, it’s a leap year. That single missing day is actually due to an outage of Internet access rather than my own sloth, so at least I have a good excuse.
from morantug.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.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For today’s Maritime Sunday post, the focus is cast upon the Amy Moran, which is part of the enormous fleet of towing vessels employed by the Moran corporation. All of the shots in this post were captured along the Kill Van Kull, with the final one depicting her undergoing maintenance at a floating drydock located along the tidal strait which divides and defines the coastlines of New Jersey and Staten Island.
Ow. Despite my aching back, a humble narrator nevertheless sends a hearty Maritime Sunday shout out to the Amy Moran and her crews.
from wikipedia
A floating drydock is a type of pontoon for dry docking ships, possessing floodable buoyancy chambers and a “U”-shaped cross-section. The walls are used to give the drydock stability when the floor or deck is below the surface of the water. When valves are opened, the chambers fill with water, causing the drydock to float lower in the water. The deck becomes submerged and this allows a ship to be moved into position inside. When the water is pumped out of the chambers, the drydock rises and the ship is lifted out of the water on the rising deck, allowing work to proceed on the ship’s hull.
The Newtown Pentacle 