PORTAGE — Twenty-one Polish sailors guided the massive M.V. Jamno cargo ship through the choppy, wind-frothed waters of the Atlantic Ocean for weeks before passing through the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes.
The six-year year old Polsteam ship, which sails under the flag of Bahamas, stretches 200 meters long and makes a Ford F-150 look like a Hot Wheels car in comparison. The vessel stopped to drop off a load of steel in Cleveland, where the sailors took a break to watch the total solar eclipse Monday.
The Jamno then made its way though Lake Erie, along the Detroit River, into Lake Huron, past the Straits of Mackinac and into Lake Michigan. It just arrived at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor where it dropped off about 6,000 metric tons of steel products.
It narrowly beat out another ship to be the first international vessel to arrive at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor after the St. Lawrence Seaway reopened, kicking off the international shipping season that brings goods from all over the world to Northwest Indiana.
People are also reading…
"They were neck-and-neck there for a while but then the weather held the Virginiaborg up in Hamilton," Port Director Ryan McCoy said.
The Jamno left on March 21 and traveled for about three weeks, Captain Dariusz Buczek said.
"It was not too bad but the weather on the ocean was very, very bad with 30-meter waves," he said. "There was a storm at the time. We stayed for three days in one place. This time of year, the spring time, is very bad for travel, for crossing the Atlantic. But we are here without damage. We have to be very careful crossing the Atlantic with these conditions because it's very difficult. Very difficult."
The ocean waters are much more placid in the summer, Buczek said.
"In the summertime, the waves are one meter tall, maybe one and a half meters at most," he said. "But this time of year we have 80 knots to 90 knots wind. But we are here. So it was not too bad."
The voyage was much was much easier when the ship got into the Great Lakes. It was able to travel to Burns-Harbor in seven days.
"It was very, very fast," he said. "The weather was perfect."
Longshoreman unloaded the ship with massive cranes so it could set sail for its next stop in Milwaukee, where it will drop off another 8,000 metric tons of steel before heading to Duluth or Thunder Bay to pick up grain to take abroad. It will head back to Italy.
The crew will then make a second trip back to the United States, where it likely will stop at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor again.
"I'm a captain the last three years and this is my first time here. I was the first ship here for the season, so I am very happy," he said.
The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor presented the ship with the Steel Stein, a ceremonial honor it gives to the first ship reflecting Northwest Indiana's place as the "Steel Capital of North America."
The deepwater port on Lake Michigan in Portage and Burns Harbor typically gets about 90 international vessels known as salties every year.
"We're expecting everything to be comparable to previous years," McCoy said. "Cargo has been trending up. Even last year was one of the best years in the port's history."
Last year, the Ports of Indiana, which include the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and two Ohio River ports, handed 1.26 million tons of cargo, the second most in its 64-year history. Cargo shipments were up 6% at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor.
"We have a very strong economy here in Northwest Indiana," McCoy said. "This year we're going to handle a lot of bulk cargos and we're going to handle a lot of steel products again."
The port has a significant economic impact, he said. A study found the Ports of Indiana supported more than 49,000 jobs, generated $8.7 billion in economic activity, paid $3.5 billion in annual wages and contributed $536 million in state and local taxes.
Salties bring goods like steel, limestone, salt, potash and wind turbine blades from all over the world while taking grains from local farmers to international markets.
International commerce will ebb and flow over the course of the year, McCoy said.
"We're going to have three vessels in the next five days here," he said. "And then we could see a lull for a week. And then we'll see a few more. It kind of goes with the weather, the locks. The locks just opened. We've got this early influx and it will even out for the summer."
The port, which has two stevedores and union-represented longshoremen to unload cargo, moves cargo all year long via rail and barge.
"Our cargo's pretty consistent," he said. "That's why you see our tonnage is consistent throughout the year. We do have rail and barge bringing cargo throughout the year. But import and export are the core of what we do here. It's the core of what the port was built to do."
The international shipping business has stayed strong, McCoy said.
"We're pretty consistent from year to year," he said. "We're here with the steel industry in Northwest Indiana. I believe 26% of the local economy is steel-based so a lot of what we do it steel-based."
It continues to bid for super-sized heavy lift cargo like the Icarus, the world's largest liquid argon particle hunter that was shipped from Europe to the Argonne National Laboratory in 2017. Much of such shipments get dictated by the final destination and last-mile shipping costs.
Given its proximity to Chicago, Indianapolis and other centers of population and industry, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is one of the busiest on the Great Lakes.
"I would attribute it to the state of Indiana and the good roads and infrastructure we have to get in and out of our port," McCoy said.Â
A look back at Northwest Indiana businesses that closed in 2023
A look back at Region businesses that closed in 2023
Beer Geeks, one of the Region's first, most beloved and most influential craft beer bars, closed after more than a decade and is being reimagined as a new concept.
The landmark 88-year-old castle-shaped White Castle in Whiting is coming down to be replaced with a newer, larger, more modern White Castle restaurant.Â
A longtime staple in downtown Crown Point poured its last drink.
The longtime Westforth Sports gun shop is closing.
The Silver Line Building Products plant at 16801 Exchange Ave. will be shuttered permanently.
Brewfest in Highland will close in what's been called "an end of an era."
David's Bridal filed for bankruptcy and could close all stores if no buyer emerges to save it.
The 88-year-old Whiting White Castle will be remembered with displays at museums in two different states.
For years, the "millionaire's club" met every morning in the corner booth of the historic 88-year-old White Castle at Indianapolis Boulevard and 119th Street in downtown Whiting. The landmark restaurant served its final slider Tuesday.Â
One of Northwest Indiana's most popular and enduring hobby shops is looking for a buyer after the longtime owner died.
J&L This N That Consignment Shop, a popular thrift store, closed in downtown Whiting after a run of several years.
A Calumet Region institution, Calumet Fisheries on the far South Side of Chicago, is temporarily closed after failing a city health inspection.
Just days after reopening after city health inspectors shut it down, Calumet Fisheries suffered a major fire.
Pepe's Mexican Restaurant is no mas in Valparaiso.
Beer Geeks in Highland rebranded as B-Side Bar & Lounge and then closed within a few months.
Troubled retailer Bed Bath and Beyond will permanently close its Valparaiso location as it shutters more stores nationwide as it looks to restructure and shrink its footprint to save the struggling business.
Peoples Bank has shuttered its branch in downtown Hammond.Â
Viking Artisan Ales will soon pour its last craft beer at its Merrillville taproom.
Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom is closing after 15 years at one of Northwest Indiana's most prominent highway interchanges.
The Chicago Auto Show, the nation's largest auto show, returns to McCormick Place Saturday, running through Feb. 19.