New ocean vessel ‘Federal Indiana’ makes first call to Indiana

Officials welcomed the new ocean vessel ‘Federal Indiana’ to Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Monday, marking the ship’s first visit to its namesake state.

Launched in 2024, the Federal Indiana is owned and operated by Fednav, Canada’s largest bulk shipping company. The vessel is 200 meters long and 24 meters wide, the largest possible dimensions for Seawaymax vessels that pass through the locks connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

“The ship was named after the state of Indiana because it is one of the most important international shipping destinations for Fednav,” said Paul Pathy, president and CEO of Fednav. “This new vessel signifies our strong commitment to Great Lakes shipping and a strategic decision to maintain one of the youngest fleets in the world. This is also a crucial step forward in Fednav’s decarbonization journey. By focusing on improved vessel design, our new ships feature safer, cleaner, more fuel-efficient operations with larger cargo-carrying capacity that deliver more value to our customers.”

Headquartered in Montreal, Fednav has offices in Antwerp, Hamburg, Geneva, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo, Quebec City and Johannesburg. Fednav operates a fleet of 120 owned and chartered vessels that transport more than 30 million tons of bulk and breakbulk cargoes worldwide. Fednav operated the general cargo terminal at Burns Harbor for nearly 30 years until 2023 and also provides a liner service called FALLine that makes multiple sailings between Europe and Burns Harbor each month.

“It’s a tremendous honor to welcome the Federal Indiana to our port and to know that this vessel carries the name of our state around the world as it delivers critical cargoes to global markets,” said Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock. “This vessel symbolizes the strong partnership between Fednav and Ports of Indiana that has existed for decades as well as the prominent role Indiana plays in international shipping on the Great Lakes.”

According to the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., Indiana is responsible for more than half of the U.S. economic activity generated by Great Lakes shipping.

The Federal Indiana arrived in Burns Harbor carrying 11,798 metric tons of tinplate coils for Thyssen Krupp/Rasselstein that will be used in the canning industry as well as 3,025 metric tons of steel coils for Arcelor Mittal. The cargo originated in Germany and was transported via barge, truck and rail to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, where it was loaded on the Federal Indiana and set sail for Burns Harbor on Oct. 4.

Fednav has launched an extensive ship building program for its Great Lakes fleet, with four new ships recently delivered and another six commissioned for delivery in 2025. The new vessel designs and increased computing power allow Fednav to improve fuel consumption by 33 percent versus its first-generation vessels and increase cargo capacity by 130 metric tons, which further reduces the vessels’ carbon intensity.