This Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carrier was built by Bay Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, WI and was launched as Columbia Star on November 8, 1980 for Columbia Transportation Division, Oglebay Norton Co., Cleveland , OH. She is powered by 4 V-20 cylinder 3,560 horsepower G.M. diesel engines driving through a gear reduction box to 2 controllable pitch propellers giving her a rated service speed of 15 knots. She is equipped with both bow and stern thrusters. The Columbia Star has 37 hatches feeding into 7 holds where she is capable of carrying 78850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Her stern-mounted 260 foot self-unloading boom can be swung 92 degrees to port or starboard and can discharge at a rate of up to 10,000 tons per hour.
