Ambrose Channel is the only shipping channel in and out of the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the system of navigable water ...

. The channel is considered to be part of

Lower New York Bay Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows (the strait between Staten Island and Brooklyn). The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens. The waterway b ...

and is located several miles off the coasts of

Sandy Hook, New Jersey Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...

, and Breezy Point, New York. Ambrose Channel terminates at Ambrose Anchorage, just south of the

Verrazano Narrows Bridge The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay an ...

, the gateway to New York Harbor, where it becomes known as the Anchorage Channel. It is named for John Wolfe Ambrose, an engineer from New York. The entrance to the channel was marked by

Ambrose Light Ambrose Light, often called Ambrose Tower, was the light station at the convergence of several major shipping lanes in Lower New York Bay, including Ambrose Channel, the primary passage for ships entering and departing the Port of New York and ...

which doubled as a staging area for

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

s, most notably the

Sandy Hook Pilots Sandy Hook Pilots are licensed maritime pilots that are members of the Sandy Hook Pilots Association for the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. Sandy Hook pilots guide oceangoing vessels, passenger liners, ...

. Prior to the construction of the light tower in 1967 the channel was marked by the Ambrose Lightship, one of a class of lightships operated and maintained by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

for the express purpose of marking main shipping channels for major ports. After being struck by small boats on a number of occasions, the light tower was redesigned and relocated in 1999, and finally decommissioned and removed in 2008. Once inside

the Narrows __NOTOC__ The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...

, Ambrose becomes the Anchorage Channel which splits into channels to marine terminals. Connecting channels are the Bay Ridge, the Red Hook, the

Buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...

, the Claremont, the

Port Jersey Port Jersey, officially the Port Jersey Port Authority Marine Terminal and referred to as the Port Jersey Marine Terminal, is an intermodal freight transport facility that includes a container terminal located on the Upper New York Bay in the ...

, the Kill Van Kull, the Newark Bay, the

Port Newark A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

, the Elizabeth, and the Arthur Kill. Anchorages are known as Stapleton, Bay Ridge and Gravesend.

References

Notes Further reading *
National Data Buoy Center
- Station ALSN6 - Ambrose Light, NY
New York Harbor Approaches
NOAA Chart 12326 online.

External links

Sandy Hook Pilots

South Street Seaport Museum
- Current location of the Ambrose Lightship Port of New York and New Jersey Bodies of water of Queens, New York Bodies of water of Monmouth County, New Jersey Shipping channels {{MonmouthCountyNJ-geo-stub

See also

References

External links