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Page 97 BURNS HARBOR CELEBRATES 30™ ANNIVERSARY In the September-October, 1980 issue of Telescope, we published a short article on the new class of 1,000-footers that were becoming commonplace on the lakes. The thousand-footer, that phenomenon of the 1970s, has changed the looks of things on the lakes as nothing since the opening of the Seaway. That event spelled disaster for all of the old canallers, and now the sight of one of them is an event to note. In the case of the superships, the cost has been the loss of many of our old favorites that have been consigned to the scrap yards around the world. The lakes will never be quite the same. It all began when the STEWART J. CORT emerged from the Litton Yard in Erie, like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube, a section at a time. While this was going on, the bow and stem were being built at Pascagoula, Mississippi, were joined together to form a funny looking midget ship, and sailed into the lakes through the Welland Canal to join the midbody. Once sailing she created a spectacle wherever she went. On her maiden voyage up the Detroit River, thousands lined the shores on both sides of the river to watch her go by. Belle Isle was so crowded a traffic jam resulted. Now eight years later and 11 ships later, the sight of a thousand-footer is commonplace, and seasoned boat watchers might not look up from their newspaper to watch one go by. The BURNS HARBOR was the tenth 1,000-foot vessel to be built and the third supership built for Bethlehem Steel. She was built as Hull 720 at Bay Shipbuilding and launched on October 28, 1979. Christened BURNS HARBOR on May 24, 1980, she measured 1000' x 105' x 56'. Carrying capacity was 35,652 gross tons and she was powered by four 3,600 hp diesel engines. Her design was similar to her fleet mate LEWIS WILSON FOY launched in 1978. After she was christened, the slow economy forced Bethlehem to keep the BURNS HARBOR dockside until September, 28, 1980 when she departed on her maiden voyage to load iron ore pellets at Superior, WI. for delivery to Bums Harbor, IN. The BURNS HARBOR withstood the ever-changing steel market throughout her career. As bankruptcies forced the steel industry to consolidate, ownership of the BURNS HARBOR was transferred to American Steamship in June, 2005. The BURNS HARBOR usually operates Lake Michigan-Lake Superior routes and continues to remain in service during tough economic times. As the economy slowly improves, the BURNS HARBOR began her 30th year loading iron ore pellets at Silver Bay, MN on March 31. Stem view of BURNS HARBOR entering a bit of lingering mist above Mission Point - 6/28/09 Photo by Dick Lund