CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Lakers are the stars of the Great Lakes.

The up-to-1,000-foot freighters are eye-catching, mesmerizing, romantic vestiges of industrial glory days. And we can’t get over their size, whether they’re powering through Lake Erie or pivoting around the hair-pin curves of the Cuyahoga River.

Interlake Steamship Co., which is based in Middleburg Heights and owns nine lakers, celebrates the beauty of the ships in its annual calendar.

Lakers -- make up about 95 percent of freighter traffic on the Great Lakes — move about 4 million tons of iron ore in the nine months the lakes are clear of ice.

Much of it is unloaded onto the Port of Cleveland bulkhead terminal west of Whiskey Island, then transferred to slightly smaller, river-class ships that can navigate the river up to the ArcellorMittal steel mill, including the Buffalo and the Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder. (None of the boats are owned by the steel companies or the port.)

See how a freighter navigates the curvy Cuyahoga River, from Cleveland port to steel plant

Ships make about 450 round trips on the Cuyahoga each year. Many of the ships are loaded with iron ore from Duluth, Minnesota.

The journey to Cleveland takes about 57 hours, at a top speed of 17 mph.

Want a calendar of your own? Interlake donated calendars to the National Museum of the Great Lakes. You can buy one at the museum for $9.95, plus shipping. To order, call 419-214-5000 extension 200, or go to the website at nmglstore.org.

See the 2019 Interlake calendar

M/V Stewart J. Cort, the first thousand-foot vessel on the Lakes, has a #1 painted on aft cabin housing of the boat to celebrate this honor. In this shot, the Cort is sailing on Lake Superior at the Twin Ports of Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis. (Scott Bjorklund)

M/V Stewart J. Cort

Overall length: 1,000

Capacity (gross tons): 58,000

Engine horsepower: 14,400

Year built: 1972

M/V Mesabi Miner is one of four 1,000-foot vessels in Interlake’s fleet. Named to honor the men and women of the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota, the Miner is 1,004 feet in length and can carry as many as 63,000 tons in a single trip. In this shot, the ship is headed downbound on the St. Marys River at Hay Lake. (Paul LaMarre III)

M/V Mesabi Miner

Overall length: 1,004

Capacity (gross tons): 63,300

Engine horsepower: 16,000

M/V Hon. James L. Oberstar is 806 feet in length and can carry as many as 31,000 tons of cargo at one time. In this shot, the Oberstar is weathering some October gales making the way downbound on Lake Huron off of Saginaw Bay. (Paul LaMarre III)

M/V Honorable James L. Oberstar

Overall length: 806

Capacity (gross tons): 31,000

Engine horsepower: 8,500

Year built: 1959

Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder is a 700-foot articulated tug-barge unit that can regularly be spotted navigating the winding Cuyahoga River shuttling iron ore to the ArcelorMittal steel mill. Here is the Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder in Duluth, Minn., delivering salt from Cargill in Cleveland. (Gus Schauer)

Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder tug-barge

Overall length: 700.02

Capacity (gross tons): 26,700

Engine horsepower: n/a

Year built: 1953

M/V James R. Barker is named after the Chairman of this private company that has more than a 100-year history in Cleveland. At 1,004-foot in length, the Big Barker can carry as many as 63,000 tons in a single trip. In this shot, this Laker is sailing upbound on Lake Huron after just going under the Bluewater Bridges in Port Huron, Mich. (Andrea Guerriero)

M/V James R. Barker

Overall length: 1,004

Capacity (gross tons): 63,300

Engine horsepower: 16,000

Year built: 1976

M/V Herbert C. Jackson is the smallest ship in Interlake’s freshwater fleet but can still carry more than 24,000 tons at a time. At 690 feet, the Jackson can navigate the narrowest waterways like the Cuyahoga and largest lakes like Lake Superior as it is this photo coming into the Duluth, Minn., canal. (Paul Scinocca)

M/V Herbert C. Jackson

Overall length: 690.0

Capacity (gross tons): 24,800

Engine horsepower: 6,000

Year built: 1959

M/V Paul R. Tregurtha is the longest freighter to ever sail the Great Lakes at 1,013.5 feet in length. That distinction earns her the honor of being called the “Queen of the Lakes”. This Laker, pictured here coming through Port Huron, can carry 68,000 tons of cargo in one single trip. (Thomas Shaw)

The longest vessel on the Great Lakes.

Overall length: 1,013.5

Capacity (gross tons): 68,000

Engine horsepower: 17,120

Year built: 1981

M/V Lee A. Tregurtha is Interlake’s most veteran ship, proudly displaying war medals from her time as a tanker in World War II. At 826-feet, the Lee A. Tregurtha can carry 29,300 tons in a single trip. In this photo, the Laker is in Duluth, Minn. (Paul Scinocca)

M/V Lee A. Tregurtha

Overall length: 826.0

Capacity (gross tons): 29,360

Engine horsepower: 8,040

Year built: 1942

M/V Kaye E. Barker is pictured here coming through Green Bay, Wisc. At 767-feet, this classic Laker can carry nearly 26,000 tons at a time. (Chuck Zentmeyer)

M/V Kaye E. Barker

Overall length: 767

Capacity (gross tons): 25,900

Engine horsepower: 8,000

Year built: 1952

For more Lake Erie news, follow RocktheLake on Facebook.