Here are the final reports of some of the more notable disasters that have occurred within New York Harbor and its vicinity. They make for some heavy but informative reading.
The General Slocum, June 15th 1904 NY East River and Hell’s Gate (935 kb)
The Esso Brussels and Sea Witch, June 2nd 1973 NY Upper Bay and Narrows (4,351 kb)
The Texaco Massachusetts and the Alva Cape, June 16th 1966, The Kill Van Kull, Bergen Point, N.J. (841 kb)
The Marine Electric , February 12th 1983 30 nm East of Chincoteague, Va. in approx 120′ of water. (7,054 kb)
The Tug Scandia and Barge North Cape, January 19th, 1996 Off Rhode Island, Moonstone Beach. (1,582 kb)
NY TUGMASTER'S WEBLOG 
[…] . . . Chemical Pioneer, not far from where it, as Sea Witch 37 years ago lost its steering and created its fireball and a major oil spill, by sixth boro […]
My wife’s grandfather, Henry Harold Johnson, was a coal Barge deckhand & later a captain on the Burns Brothers Barges plying the Hudson River. Later he bacame a Tugboat captain for the McCormick line & the Tracy Barge towing line. This would be back in the 1920’s to 1940’s. The story my wifes family was told, is that one winter day when it was extremely foggy, Henry called in sick and someone else went in his place. Due to the poor visability, an ocean liner crashed into the tug and some or all of the crew were killed. Henry was saved due to his not being on the job that day. My question is: Has anyone heard of this loss of a tug & crew due to a collision with a ship back in this time period? And is there a way to find out if those company’s mentioned have records of their crews? Appreciate any help i can get. Thanks.
There was a tug that crashed into a tanker called the Ann Marie Tracy in October 1948. What would have been my step grandfather was one of those that drowned that day. Small snippet about it in The Daily News October 8, 1948 can be found in Newspapers.com. His name was Ladislau Ferreira.
How do I find records of my grandfather and his brothers who workrd the tugboats in NY harbor ..Capt. James Kiers, Frank and Thomas kiers…one tug was “AJ Kinght “…worked for Moran and McAllister (?)
Jack, I don’t know of any official channels where you might find that info. If you go on Facebook(yeah, I know not the most reliable source) you’ll find a group called “Tugboat Information”, Apply to/join that group and post your inquiries there. There is a large community of tugboaters past and present who may be able to help. Good Luck,
bb
Where can I find detailed information about the sinking of the Tracy tug Ann-Marie after a collision with a ship on the North river sometime during the 25 or so years after WWII. Thank you, Ronnie
How do I find records of my grandfather (Lester Scouten) accident who was killed in the a tug boat Hell Gates accident in 1963?
There are a few news reports and articles available online. However, NTSB or USCG investigations were not immediately apparent in my cursory search of the date and place.
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/19980706/news/307069987
[…] the disaster of early June 1973 has not been the only one in sixth boro history. NY Tugmaster’s Weblog devotes a post to some of these, with three most horrific ones occurring in the month of June. Many thanks to […]
And the 1900 fire at the Hamburg American piers in Hoboken. SAALE and other ships; hundred of deaths