Capt. Jacek Kurpiel and his crew traveled thousands of miles to become the first international ship of the season to arrive at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor.
The M.V. Lubie, a 623-foot Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier carried 22 crew members and 6,600 tons of steel for the journey from Ijmuiden, Holland. It was an example an example of the global economy, officials said Friday.
Kurpiel and 21 Polish crew members left Holland on March 29, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and came down the St. Lawrence Seaway. They stopped in Cleveland, before arriving in Burns Harbor, amassing thousands of miles. They’ll continue on to Milwaukee on Monday to discharge the ship’s remaining cargo, then go to Thunder Bay in Ontario to load grain.
“We’re open year-round, but we’re reminded every year when we receive the first international ship that Indiana is connected to the world,” Port director Rick Heimann told Kurpiel as he handed him the Port of Indiana Steel Stein, given each year to the captain of the first international ship to arrive.
“There are a lot of companies in Indiana and in the port that benefit from receiving goods from vessels like yours,” Heimann told Kurpiel.
Heimann said the economic impact the ships bring to the area was a reason for celebration on Friday.
Brian LaRue, general manager for Federal Marine Terminals/Burns Harbor, said about 50 people would be called to work to unload the ship. He said there are about 130 people on the call list, including crane operators and longshoremen.
Heimann said 20 vessels will be coming into the port between Friday and the end of May, each carrying cargoes ranging from 3,000 tons to 30,000 tons. The port handled 2.8 million tons of cargo in 2015
He said the ships will be carrying a wide variety of products, including brewery tanks, grain, corn, soybean, cranes from Europe and steel.
Heimann said some shipments will serve the local industry, including coal from West Virginia and furnace coke.
“We’re a consuming area,” he said.
This was not the first trip to the Burns Harbor port for Kurpiel, nor was it the most harrowing.
He was one of the first ships to arrive two years ago, during one of the coldest winters on record.
“We came through huge ice bricks in the Straits of Mackinac,” Kurpiel said.
The St. Lawrence Seaway opened its locks to ocean vessels for the 58th international shipping season on March 21 after closing in late December for the winter months.
