ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)– Our rivers may be covered in ice, but business still has to take place. To make sure it happens, tugboats are out on the water, breaking dense ice for ships to sail behind. Right in Albany, the New York State Marine Highway Transportation sends its tugboats out on the Hudson River and up the Mohawk, breaking up ice that can be upwards of a foot and a half thick. With recent winter temperatures and storms, that work never stops this time of year.
“If you enjoy what you’re doing, you never work a day in your life,” recounted Chris Blauberg, captain of the Mary Kay. “We’re excited about this thaw, though, a little warmer weather is coming.”
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Starting with the movement of goods, Captain Blauberg and his crew are on-call for industries like quarry and oil. Those ships and barges have to dock, and to do so, the ice-clearing tugboat has to get ahead of the vessel and break the ice all the way to the dock. The tugboats will even help the boats in their maneuver.
“If a ship can’t get up here, heating oil, salt, all the necessary things we need to get through our winters up here, it doesn’t happen,” noted Captain Blauberg. “So if we can’t do our jobs, then the rest of the community suffers unfortunately.”
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Captain Blauberg said that with this winter, they’ve experienced a stronger buildup of ice, which can directly impact communities…