The Ports of Indiana is the port authority for the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, one in a three-port system operated by the State of Indiana. About 70 million tons of cargo is shipped by water to and from Indiana every year. With over half of its borders being water, the state has immediate access to two important water transportation arteries: the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system and the Ohio River system. The Ports of Indiana is a quasi-government body operating the State's port system, its foreign trade zones, and port-related economic development efforts.Created in 1961, the Ports of Indiana is responsible for promoting the State's industrial, commercial, and agricultural development through the port facilities. The three ports include the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, -Mount Vernon, and -Jeffersonville. Together, the three ports handle about $1.9 billion in cargo each year.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is an important gateway for international shippers wanting to reach the United States' heartland. More ocean-going cargo passes through the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor than any other US Great Lakes Port. With a navigable depth of 8.5 meters (28 feet), the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor welcomes vessels using the St. Lawrence Seaway for access to/from the Atlantic Ocean and barges that use inland rivers to reach the Gulf of Mexico. The multi-modal Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor handles about 500 thousand trucks, 10 thousand rail cars, 400 barges, and one hundred ships each year.

Accessible throughout the year, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor has 600 acres of land, 85 of which are available for industrial development, and 30 tenant companies. Having over ten steel companies and three steel mills, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is a hub for processing steel. It is served by the Norfolk Southern and Indiana Harbor Belt railroads. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is a foreign trade zone with round-the-clock security and an on-site health care facility. Being zoned for heavy industry, it also boasts port roads without weight limits.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor's maritime industrial park has attracted many companies who seek facilities for manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution that are near US waterways and the metropolis of Chicago.

Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor facilities include capacity to store 125 tons of liquid cargo. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor has 8.4 thousand square meters (90 thousand square feet) of bulk cargo storage and four sheds with a total of 30.6 thousand square meters (330 thousand square feet) of storage for general cargo. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor offers ample climate-controlled storage space and 55 acres of paved storage area. There is a total of 1.7 thousand meters (5550 feet) of berthing areas in the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor handles a wide variety of cargoes that include finished and scrap steel, grains, soybeans, dry and liquid fertilizers, lumber, chemicals, asphalt, paper, coal and coke, and limestone. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor can accommodate project cargo, containers, vehicles, and over-sized equipment.

The Indiana Port Commission owns the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Berth No. 1, and several companies operate the berth to ship and receive steel products, chemicals, liquid fertilizer, and dry bulk cargoes. Surface rail tracks connect with the Consolidated Rail Corporation (CONRAIL). The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Berth No. 1 has berthing space of 110 meters (360 feet) with alongside depth of 8.2 meters (27 feet) LWD.

The Indiana Port Commission also owns the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Berth No. 2 which is also operated by several companies to receive dry bulk cargoes that include coal, stone, salt, and fertilizer by self-unloading vessel. A storage building at the rear can accommodate 150 thousand tons of fertilizer. Two paved areas can store 200 thousand tons of salt. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Berth No. 2 has berthing space of 183 meters (600 feet) with alongside depth of 8.2 meters (27 feet) LWD.

The Indiana Port Commission owns the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Berth No. 6 Cargill Dock. Cargill Inc. operates the dock to ship grain. Surface rail tracks connect with CONRAIL. A grain elevator at the rear contains 14 silos with total capacity for 5.4 million bushels. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Berth No. 6 Cargill Dock has berthing space of 222 meters (730 feet) with alongside depth of 8.2 meters (27 feet) LWD.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor's Berths Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are also owned by the Indiana Port Commission, and they are operated by the Lakes and Rivers Transfer Corporation and Beta Steel Corporation. The berths are used to ship and receive refrigerated and general dry cargoes, containers, steel products, and steel slabs. It is also used to receive scrap metal. A surface rail tracks serves two sheds and connect with additional terminal rail tracks and with CONRAIL.

A sewage line connects vessels at this Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor wharf with the waste treatment plant owned by the Port Commission that is about one mile to the south. These Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor berths have a 390 square meter (4200 square foot) cold storage building next to Shed No. 1. There are also 15 acres of open storage area at the rear of the berths. This Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor wharf has berthing space of 823 meters (2702 feet) with alongside depth of 8.2 meters (27 feet) LWD.

Berths Nos. 2, 3, and 4 in the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor are also owned by the Indiana Port Commission and operated by several companies. The wharf is used to ship and receive steel, furnace slag, and dry bulk cargoes like pig iron, coke, coal, and ore alloys and to receive liquid fertilizer. Two surface tracks connect the open storage area with CONRAIL. Both Lakes and Rivers Transfer Corporation and PCS Sales Indiana Inc. have 5.2 thousand square meter (56 thousand square foot) storage buildings with capacity for 60 thousand tons of fertilizer. Frick Services Inc. operates Translake's pipeline that connects the wharf to a 1.8 million gallon liquid fertilizer storage tank. There is also a nine-acre open storage area at the rear of these Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor berths. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Berths No. 2, 3, and 4 have berthing space of 545 meters (1790 feet) with alongside depth of 8.2 meters (27 feet) LWD.

The National Steel Corporation's Midwest Division (now part of US Steel) owns, and the Indiana Port Commission operates the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Barge Dock for mooring barges. Rail tracks serve the plant at the rear and connect with CONRAIL. The wharf and breakwater form the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor's West Harbor Arm slip which contains Berths 10 through 14. An open storage area to the rear of the steel-finishing mill can handle about 300 thousand tons of semi-finished and finished steel products. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Barge Dock has berthing space of 472 meters (1550 feet) with alongside depth of 8.2 meters (27 feet) LWD.

Great Lakes Towing Company and Calumet Marine Towing Company operate the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Work Boat Slip owned by the Indiana Port Commission to moor company-owned tugs and vessels. The Work Boat Slip in the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor has berthing space of 24.4 meters (80 feet) with alongside depth of 1.8 meters (6 feet) LWD.

The International Steel Group (successor to Bethlehem Steel Corporation) owns and operates the Burns International Harbor Plant Dock to receive iron ore, iron ore pellets, alloy briquettes, and limestone. The dock is also used to ship steel mill products. Surface rail tracks along the wharf join other plant tracks and connect with the Chicago Southshore and South Bend Railroad and CONRAIL. The plant has total storage capacity for four million tons of iron ore and limestone. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor's Plant Dock has berthing space of 1140 meters (3742 feet) with alongside depth of 8.2 meters (27 feet) LWD.

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