Days of extreme cold and heavy ice around New York City led NYC Ferry to suspend all services on the Hudson and East rivers and harbor. In New Jersey, NY Waterway halted ferry service from Edgewater, instead providing passengers with bus service to the Port Imperial terminal.
Coast Guard icebreaking vessels homeported at Bayonne, N.J., worked around the city and up the Hudson River, keeping channels open and servicing aids to navigation.
“The unseasonably cold and at times frigid conditions continue through this week,” with cold weather advisories likely through Friday night, according to the National Weather Service New York office. Meanwhile, forecasters looked for the potential of a coastal storm developing off the southeast U.S. coast this weekend.
“NYC Ferry service remains suspended across all routes due to continued ice in the East and Hudson Rivers and across New York Harbor,” operators wrote in an advisory to riders Wednesday morning. “The safety of all crew, passengers, and vessels is of the utmost importance, and NYC Ferry crew continues to monitor evolving waterway conditions and prepare the fleet to ensure service can resume once conditions improve.”
Meanwhile, the Staten Island Ferry continues to operate on its normal schedule.
Seastreak ferry operators suspended service to the West 39th Street terminal, but other Seastreak departures operated on schedule.
As ice built on Tuesday, 65' Coast Guard harbor tug Hawser broke ice and freed a New York Police Department’s vessel David when the boat was beset by ice near Pier 86 on the Hudson River. Other tugs likewise kept West Side piers accessible.
Underway in the Hudson River, the 175' Coast Guard Keeper-class tender Katherine Walker was servicing multiple buoys to “ensure that navigation channels remained safe and well-marked,” according to Coast Guard officials. The Katherine Walker’s primary mission is to service and maintain more than 300 aids to navigation throughout New York Harbor, Long Island Sound, and surrounding waterways.
The operations are a regular part of the Coast Guard Northeast District’s longstanding annual Operation RENEW (Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters) 2026. The seasonal operation effort helps mitigate the impacts of severe winter conditions and is “essential to maintaining the flow of heating fuel, food, medical supplies, and other critical goods to communities that may be isolated by ice. These operations also support safe navigation and help mitigate flooding risks associated with ice buildup and ice jams,” according to the Coast Guard.
