Page 16: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 1980)

GM-powered bulk carrier Burns Harbor is latest addition to Bethlehem Steel's Great

Lakes Steamship Division fleet.

Bethlehem Steel's Third 1,000-Foot Bulker

Christened At Bay Shipbuilding Yard

The M/V Burns Harbor, Beth- lehem Steel's third 1,000-foot-long

Great Lakes oreboat, was chris- tened recently in ceremonies at

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Named in honor of America's most modern steelmaking plant, Bethlehem's

Burns Harbor, Ind., complex on the southern shore of Lake Mich- igan, the Burns Harbor is being built at Bay Shipbuilding Corpo- ration, a subsidiary of the Mani- towoc Company, Inc. of Sturgeon

Bay. The vessel is expected to go into service in July. The boat will transport taconite pellets produced at Bethlehem's plants in Minnesota to its Burns Har- bor and Lackawanna, N.Y., steel plants.

M/V BURNS HARBOR

Engines . Electro-Motive Division, GM

Reduction gears Falk

Propellers, engine controls, thrust- ers PSI (Propulsion Systems, Inc.)

Steering gear Sperry Marine

Sewage Treatment

System St. Louis Ship, FAST

Radar Raytheon

Fathometer Raytheon

Switchboards ITI Imperial Corp.

Generators . Ohio Machinery

Unloading equipment Stephens-Adamson

Motor control equipment Westinghouse Electric

Ship-to-shore radio GE

VHF radio R.L. Drake

At the ceremonies, Mrs. C.

Richard Rough, wife of the Burns

Harbor plant's general manager, broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the vessel's bow, officially naming the vessel.

In brief remarks during the fes- tivities, Mr. Rough noted that construction of the new boat is another indication of Bethlehem's commitment to investing huge amounts of capital to provide the latest in technological advance- ments in all phases of its opera- tions.

Upon delivery, the Burns Har- bor will join the Lewis Wilson Foy (also built by Bay Shipbuilding) and the Stewart J. Cort to make

Bethlehem the only company with three 1,000-footers on the Great

Lakes. Addition of the third 1,000- footer will give Bethlehem a sev- en-vessel Great Lakes fleet which, measured in terms of average age and average vessel capacity, is the newest, most efficient fleet on the

Lakes. To achieve this distinc- tion, Bethlehem has invested ap- proximately $125 million in its

Great Lakes fleet during the past decade.

Capacity of the new boat is 58,000 gross tons, the same as the

Foy and 2,000 tons more than the

Cort. Like Bethlehem's two other 1,000-foot vessels, the Burns Har- bor is a self-unloader. Equipped with a 250-foot unloading boom, the new boat is capable of dis- charging its cargo at the rate of 10,000 gross tons an hour.

The Burns Harbor, 10 stories tall from its engine room floor to the pilothouse, is powered by four diesel engines driving twin four- blade, HVs-foot-diameter, control- lable-pitch propellers. Total en- gine output is 14,000 bhp. With a displacement weight (total weight of cargo and vessel) of 73,000 gross tons, the boat has a top speed of 16 miles per hour and a draft of 27% feet. Bow and stern thrusters improve the ves- sel's maneuverability.

Bethlehem's newest lake boat is equipped with the most mod- ern navigation, steering, and con- trol equipment available, includ- ing a computer and an automated hull stress monitoring system. It also has a complete sewage treat- ment system that removes con- taminants biologically and disin- fects the effluent. A 30,000-gallon holding tank and transfer system backs up the treatment system.

The boat will have a crew of 30, including 12 officers. Crew quar- ters are located in the deckhouse at the after end of the vessel. All crew members have a private room with bath, and the entire crew space, including the pilot- house and galley, is air-condi- tioned.

Master of the Burns Harbor will be Capt. John O. Presley, a 28-year veteran of Bethlehem's

Great Lakes Steamship Division.

Captain Presley has been a ship's master with Bethlehem since 1973, and most recently was master of the S/S Arthur B. Homer. Dur- ing his years with Bethlehem, he has served on each vessel in the firm's Great Lakes fleet.

With a 105-foot beam, the

Burns Harbor will be locked into the Great Lakes. Like the other 1,000-footers on the Lakes, the new carrier will be able to sail to and from Lake Superior through the Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Ma- rie, Mich., but will be too large to pass through the Welland Ca- nal leading from Lake Erie into the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Mrs. C. Richard Rough smashes bottle of champagne over the bow of Bethlehem

Steel's new 1,000-foot-long ore carrier, officially naming the vessel the M/V Burns

Harbor. Mr. Rough (right), general manager of Bethlehem's Burns Harbor, Ind., plant, and Arthur J. Zuehlke (center), president of Bay Shipbuilding Corp., look on during the christening ceremonies. 18 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News