Built in Lorain, OH, George A. Stinson was launched just a month after the Oglebay Norton ( Lewis Wilson Foy) in July of 1978, and just four days before the Edwin H. Gott came into service. There were labor problems in Lorain and the ship was towed from there to Detroit where she finished fitting in and was christened. She was built for National Steel Corporation and sailed for that corporation until 1986 when ownership passed to Interlake Steamship until 1998, when she was chartered to American Steamship.
Externally anyway, the Stinson resembles the "A" design of the earlier James R. Barker and Mesabi Miner with the un-covered bridge wings and the high splash rail in the bow. Her power plant is also the same as those ships, with two GM Diesels producing 16,000 hp, and a single bow thruster.
This boat was built for National Steel and chartered, first to Interland Steamship, then in 1995, to American Steamship. Her career, until 2003, was unique in that she has had (apparently without exception), the same routine - load taconite at Burlington-Northern in Superior, WS and deliver the cargo to Zug Island in Detroit. National was acquired early in 2003, and the new owners seemed not to know what they wanted to do with her immediatly, so she was laid-up in Duluth until November. The name change was announced in February, 2004 and she remains chartered to American Steamship.