PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) – The first international ship of the season has arrived at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor after traveling for 11 days across the Atlantic Ocean.

The 655-foot bulk carrier M/V Irma unloaded 9,400 tons of steel coil Monday at the deepwater port on Lake Michigan. Director Rick Heimann tells The (Muncie) Times (http://bit.ly/1K1AD6M ) that the port operates year-round, but the first ocean vessel of the year signifies the opening of northwest Indiana to international waters.

Master Mariner Captain Piotr Szczesniak and his crew of 21 Polish sailors shipped 22,000 tons of steel coil from Holland, making stops in Cleveland, Ohio, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before arriving in Portage.

After workers finish unloading its cargo Tuesday, the ship will travel to the Thunder Bay Port in Ontario, where it will load up on wheat, and then head to Italy.