The Indiana Harbor was constructed in 1979 as a self-unloading bulk carrier for American Steamship Company. She was the ninth 1,000-Footer to be constructed and was the second built for American Steamship Company, being constructed under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. Under this Act, U.S. shipping companies could modernize their fleets or build new vessels with guaranteed government financing and tax deferred benefits. She is powered by four GM V-20-cylinder 3,500 horsepower diesel engines giving her a rated service speed of 14 knots. She is equipped with bow and stern thrusters. The Indiana Harbor’s 37 hatches feed into seven holds where she is capable of carrying 78,850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Her stern-mounted self-unloading equipment feeds a 250-foot-long discharge boom that can be swung 92 degrees to port or starboard. The keel was laid for the vessel on August 9, 1978, and she was float launched from the drydock on March 19, 1979, being christened Indiana Harbor on July 11, 1979. She entered service on August 29, 1979, bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota, to load ore for her namesake port.

The Indiana Harbor became the first U.S. lake freighter to be equipped with satellite communication in August 1982. She would spend part of the 1982 and 1985 seasons in layup at Ashland, Wisconsin, due to poor economic conditions. She collided with the saltwater vessel Anangel Spirit on November 28, 1983, requiring repairs to the 10′ gash in her hull.

In 1984, the Indiana Harbor became the first 1,000-Footer to load limestone, as well as visit Port Dolomite, Michigan, setting limestone records during the 1980’s and 1990’s.

The Indiana Harbor set a record for western coal when she loaded 71,369 tons of coal at Superior, Wisconsin, for delivery to Silver Bay, Minnesota, on June 25, 1993. This was one of several coal records she set during the 1980’s and 1990’s. On September 7, 1993, the Indiana Harbor struck the Lansing Shoal Lighthouse in northern Lake Michigan after departing the shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, requiring her to return to the shipyard.

The Indiana Harbor grounded on multiple occasions when entering the harbor at Muskegon, Michigan, with coal for the B.C. Cobb power plant, notably on August 17, 1994, and August 22, 2007. The Indiana Harbor spent the majority of the 2016 season in layup at Superior, Wisconsin, fitting out in early November.

With high water levels in 2019, the Indiana Harbor broke the Soo Locks iron ore record her fleetmate American Integrity set on July 21, with a load of 76,930 tons on August 8, 2019. She broke her own record again on August 17, 2019, with a load of 77,542 tons of taconite pellets.

In February 2020, Rand Logistics announced that they purchased American Steamship Company from their parent company GATX Corp. No immediate changes were made to the fleet, and the Indiana Harbor returned to service as usual. She continues to be a busy member of the American Steamship Company fleet, hauling ore and coal across the upper Great Lakes.

Written by Brendan Falkowski