These very strange looking objects were out on the horizon Sunday afternoon off Brace Cove. Anyone have any idea what they might be? These were two distinct, very large things quite a distance away from each other. They don’t look like any kind of tanker or ship I’ve ever seen.
E.J. Lefavour
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Good Morning Gloucester 
I think that is a tanker delivering natural gas to the offshore terminal (https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/01/23/offshore-gas-terminals-mass-bust-far/Qu8dyZzF6yBNAsDNaTT1ZJ/story.html).
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Probably a Fata Morgana (mirage)… I’ve seen many of these over the years… could result from a distant boat, barge, or ship
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We see them off of Shore Road especially in cold weather
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I’ve seen ocean going fuel oil barges under tow by ocean going tugboats. There’s usually 1/2 mile + of cable between the tug and the barge. They are big and the barge does ride high in the water when empty. They used to go to Salem but now Salem is a NG plant so I don’t quite know.
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Hi E.J.: The bottom one is definitely an Articulated Tug and Barge unit, most likely a Reinour or Moran unit based on the color scheme. Looks to be loaded and most likely headed for Portland. Google ATB.
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Fata Morgana
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Looks like a Reinauer tug pushing a fuel barge in last two. First may be a RoRo-Roll on Roll off -car carrier.
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Those are definitely tankers, cargo ships. On one you can see the containers and the pilot hose looks like it stands on it’s own. In the distance could be a little haze or it’s just that they are so big, They make an illusion that it’s something it’s not. Seen these pics all my life as was a fisherman for almost 40 years. Look closely and you can make them out.
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Or we could have bumped into a parallel universe. People have reported seeing tall buildings in city settings on the horizon or in the sky. Makes one wonder.
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All the comments people have left have provided great explanations for what I saw out there on the horizon, but I like Sharon’s idea the best, although that is probably actually Fata Morgana, which I also like, and not a parallel universe interaction. I had seen a very large tanker far offshore for a number of days last week, but these were so much farther out, that they just appeared as a bit of smoke on the horizon to the naked eye, until I zoomed in on them with my camera and blew them up 200% on the computer.
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I’m with Martin…natural gas terminal activity.
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Another possibility – there has been a constant stream of ships bringing equipment to Salem Harbor for the rebuild of the power plant, almost one per week lately. Sometimes they have been backed up for various reasons and have had to wait “on the hook” before they could come in to off load.
I couldn’t figure out how to add a picture of one here, but if you are on facebook, you can search for “Salem Harbor Station Employees” and there are some there.
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