Something Different 98

January 20, 2026 in drones | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

The switch from Downtown Manhattan Heliport to Downtown Skyport is not new. It’s been experimented with elsewhere around the sixth boro too. But this is my first time to see this kind of air traffic. Had I not known it was scheduled, I could have walked right past here without noticing, as this machine.

Might this be some model of a Speedbird Aero flying light? This is said to be a logistics-focused drone. Does it even carry a camera? Watching it fly and seeing the “operator” had no observable controls made me wonder how it was “guided.

My observation of elapsed time from departing the Manhattan side to returning from wherever it landed (?) on the Brooklyn side was approximately 10 minutes. Speedbird has been demonstrated on the Great Lakes as well, doing shore/ship at Detour MI, the “mouth” to the St Marys River, the strait that connects Lakes Superior and Huron.

Skyports is currently using drones in places like Singapore, as here. Many more Skyports articles can be found here. How long before Downtown Skyport will be flying a Pelican or a Rigitech for bigger payloads?

All photos from 1/16/26, any errors, WVD.

Weather 15

January 19, 2026 in New York harbor, photos | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 comment

All photos here I took between 10 and 11 yesterday morning. The very lonely Statue almost put down her lamp, overwhelmed by futility.

Anything in the boro seemed just alone. On a sunny day, you’d be able to identify this unit as it crossed this gulf surrounded by what would clearly be a place of millions.

Can you identify it now,

or now?

Here’s the same Lily Anne the other day in different light.

Captain Dann floats in space.

Upriver, where I plan to go today, Erin Elizabeth had to break through ice,

but here . . . it’s a different story, as if she were in the middle of a very calm nowhere.

A big white cruise ship is visible for a dozen miles on a clear day. Can you identify anything about the unit bunkering MSC Meraviglia?

The Vane part is easy now, but can you tell that it’s Cape Fear?

If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. I’ll bet you’ve never heard that before. Maybe you’ve heard this version: Si no te gusta el clima, espera un minuto.

All photos, any errors, WVD, who did previous installments of weather here, and here, and here . . . just use the upper left search window and put in the word with a specific number.

Non-Random Tugs 12 K

January 18, 2026 in New York harbor, photos, Reinauer | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 comments

Reinauer stays busy. Here are some of their boats as seen in the past couple weeks. From 2011, Twins,

2020 Janice Ann with RTC 103,

2013 Curtis with RTC 82

1979 and 2009 Timothy L. with RTC 84

1968, 2008, and 2015 Dace

2009 Laurie Ann with RTC 85

For the previous Non-Random Tugs 12, aka Reinauer fleet, click here. For all “non-random tugs,” click here.

All photos, any errors, all 2026 photos, WVD.

David Winslow

January 17, 2026 in East River, New York harbor, photos, Stasinos Marine | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

David Winslow headed straight into the wind as it left the shadows of the East River and

passed the old Fulton Ferry Fireboat House and

and into the Buttermilk, bridge

to bridge.

All photos, WVD.

Names 57

January 16, 2026 in Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair, New York harbor, photos | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 comments

Here are previous installments of this title. Can you name the vessels in this line up? Answer revealed below.

This small icebreaker 65612 is also known as Wire. Might it have sustained some breakage while icebreaking? See Wire at work here in a photo from almost exactly 16 years ago.

Doing this post, I realize I don’t know the names of the two large gray government boats here. Anyone help?

All photos, WVD, who is appreciative of the line-ups done by Bayonne Drydock & Repair Corp.

Lily Anne and Stephen B

January 15, 2026 in American Petroleum & Transport, Haughland Group, New York harbor, photos | Tags: , , , , | 2 comments

Lily Anne joined a new team last summer; previously she was Seeley. This is Lily Anne‘s first appearance on this blog.

Morning light shows everything better than other hours, everything including that ridge called Brooklyn back there. Recognize that unit in the middle distance?

It’s Stephen B pushing John Blanche, a barge that I toured almost exactly 13 years ago.

Stephen B has been in the boro for over a decade as well.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

Normandy and Sea Hawk

January 14, 2026 in Allied Transportation, Metropolitan Marine Transportation, New York harbor, photos | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

I started doing “and” posts this summer. To me it seemed to shift attention onto specificity instead of randomness. Maybe that is just a distinction without a difference and confined to my perception, but it seems to make a difference to me.

Normandy is a regular, but Sea Hawk not so much. Sea Hawk came to Kirby from Allied fleet; here’s a photo of the tugboat still in Allied green taken 15 years ago. Here’s a photo of her from 11 years ago in Kirby colors.

Part of what caught my attention here is how high the barge ATC 21 seemed to be riding

Normandy met them for the assist.

In spite of how high ATC 21 seemed to ride, a lot of barge was still in the water.

Welcome to the boro Sea Hawk and ATC 21.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

Sixth Boro Details 36

January 13, 2026 in New York harbor, photos, sixth boro | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I do consider myself blessed whenever I see morning arrive with this much color. Having an expanse of sunrise like this, for me, evokes an awe of the natural world. After starting to focus on details,

I noticed something else . . . another streamlined nose aka variation on a whaleback, like Marco and Namibia‘s, MSC Tasman VI has one too. I just happened to be looking at the Peruvian coast yesterday and saw ONE Sphere, yet another.

A bit later I noticed William Brewster, light, allowing me to notice for the first time that . . .

wispy bow pudding. More than 15 years ago, I did a series on boro vessels with fibrous fendering–photos are still in my archive but don’t load–except this one, so luxuriant that I called it a fur.

A theme starts to emerge in this post: I finally managed to catch Roger Williams, formerly Capt. Stokes here. Note the difference between Capt. Stokes‘ bow and

Roger Williams‘ current one, adapted as it has been for crew transfer as it’s done in offshore wind projects. I’ve not seen another McAllister crew boat Hunter recently. Recall this article I did in 2021?

In contrast, look at the bow on Normandy. And while looking at that, I noticed another feature forward on the wheelhouse, a detail that I found very satisfying, the fact that

these folks still have a wreath there. Bravo, Normandy; thanks for extending the holiday season.

What I did miss was the NSMV Patriot State; I’d noticed them in the boro on Sunday and hoped to catch them, but they departed for warmer waters before sunrise. It looks like they were here exactly a year ago as well.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

Sixth Boro Details 35

January 12, 2026 in New York harbor, photos | Tags: , , | 2 comments

It’s been a while since I mentioned the battleship-gray GUP ships, but they’re still active every single day, because . . . you know GUP happens regularly. Longer than a decade ago I did an article about the newest class of NYC DEP boats. This particular sludge tanker–the actual name–Red Hook, has been in the boro for over 15 years now. Where does the time go!

William Brewster stays busy at construction jobs around the boro’s ever-changing edges. That woods has moved into where warehouses were when I first moved to this place.

Here’s a rare bird . . . an American RORO Carrier Group vessel. I’d love to know what rolls off and what rolls on ARC Endeavor.

Speaking of birds . . . winter is best.

I know nothing about the boat, but I like the name. My variation on it . . . Big Pella–the only word I know of the pidgin of New Guinea–is the name I gave some years ago to night herons. Well, that a long story for over a cold beer on a hot day sometime, like some of us used to do way long ago.

Without a zoom, I could not make this one out . . . as it headed around Shooters Island for the AK. My first thought was a river steamer of the inland rivers sort, but in fact it’s William Wall, aka Willy Wall, a summer clubhouse. Durham pushing it almost a decade ago here.

Chandra B passes more winter birds here in the KVK.

And here, with those corner shades meant for lifeguards, a barge I recognized immediately but had previously never seen; January is

a bit too cold for swimming.

All photos taken in the past week, any errors, WVD.

Whole Lotta Dredgin’ 17

January 11, 2026 in dredging, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., New York harbor, photos, Stasinos Marine | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sooner or later, it seems, different parts of the sixth boro require dredging. I made a note to follow Saginaw Bay, the current Great Lakes Dredge and Dock crewboat, out to where the GLDD project was happening, and the other day I finally did.

It led me here to Rockaway Inlet. That’s Dead Horse Bay in the background, and this flotilla: Eagle, McCormack Boys, and David Winslow at this moment. Does that make this the Plumb Beach Channel?

I’ve seen Eagle before but can’t recall what I knew about it, and its fleet. Anyone help?

David Winslow has been in the boro for about a year and a half now.

Note the cloud-obscured WTC-1 to the left and Brooklyn Tower to the right aligned with the crane cable.

A bit later Saginaw Bay returned.

McCormack Boys first appeared on this blog summer 2007, and since the blog is unraveling and those photos no longer display, check

it out below, transiting the Buttermilk Channel.

All photos, 2026 as well as 2007, WVD, who’s also responsible for any errors.

Click here for previous dredgin’ posts.

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