PORTAGE | The new Polish vessel "Miedwie" arrived at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Wednesday on its first trip into the Great Lakes.

Carrying break bulk cargo from the Port of Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, the ship was to have been unloaded Wednesday by workers from port terminal operator Federal Marine Terminals, the International Longshoremen's Association and the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Operated by Polsteam, the Miedwie is making several stops along the Great Lakes on its first trip into the St. Lawrence Seaway system, including Milwaukee, Cleveland and Duluth. C&M Shipping Inc. was the steamship agent that coordinated the vessel logistics for this shipment.

The cargo delivered to the Northwest Indiana port included 8,700 tons of steel for local manufacturing companies, and it will next load 20,000 tons of wheat in Duluth for the return trip to Europe.

Polsteam, the largest Polish shipowner and one of the largest in Europe, operates 75 ships, including 67 bulk carriers, four sulfur carriers and four ferries. The company has announced plans to build 34 new bulk cargo carriers by 2015.

Captained by Tamasz Molenda, the Miedwie is a 30,000-ton vessel that was built in the Mingde shipyard in Nantong, China, not far from Shanghai. The Miedwie, which was launched in late March, is the first ship in a series of eight new Great Lakes vessels that Polsteam has ordered.