Harbor Watch: What would be cooler than a tugboat named for the Godfather of Soul?

All photos by John Skelson (click to enlarge)

by Ken

Alas, that James Brown was James Joseph Brown, and therefore presumably not, as photographer John Skelson notes, the "James E. Brown" for whom this brand-new Brown Towing vessel is named, one of the New York Harbor photographs John shared this week in what he describes as "A Good Week at the Office" in his regular Friday "Ship Spotting with Skelson" post for the Working Harbor Committee blog.

Harbor people get excited by tugboats generally, so new ones are outta-sight thrills. John's pretty worked up, not just about this first look at the James E. Brown, but about the arrival of a newcomer to the mighty Moran fleet, the Kirby Moran. (Moran -- "a leading provider of marine towing and transportation services," servicing 16 ports -- likes to name boats for family members.) "Can't wait to see her in service," says John, and it's a good guess that when he does, "she" will turn up in an upcoming "Ship Spotting with Skelson" WHC blogpost.

There are, not surprisingly, lots of other tugs on view in this week's installment, including this visitor from distant parts, the Kaitlin Olivia from Louisiana:



Among the week's excitements was the arrival of the USCGC Eagle at Atlantic Salt on Staten Island:



And for sheer brawn, we have a couple of container ships heading out of port: the 1092-foot Yang Ming Upsurgence and the 985-foot Hanjin Baltimore:




For the rest of this week's "Ship Spotting with Skelson" haul, check out the post onsite, and watch for a new outing every Friday.

#