The Belle River was constructed in two sections, with her 660′ bow section being built first and side launched at Sturgeon Bay on September 30, 1976, while her 340′ stern section was under construction in the large graving dock. The sections were welded together in drydock and launched on February 26, 1977. The Belle River was christened on July 12, 1977. She had to return to drydock on August 6, 1977, after striking the bottom at the fit-out dock. She entered service on August 31, 1977, loading coal at Superior, Wisconsin, bound for the Detroit Edison power plant at Recors Point.

The McCarthy is powered by four V-20 3600 horsepower GM diesel engines. These engines are arranged in pairs, with each pair connected to a gear reduction box driving a four-blade 17.22-foot diameter controllable pitch propeller. This arrangement permits one engine of each pair to drive each propeller shaft for more economical cruising. She is equipped with 1,500 horsepower bow and stern thrusters. Her 37 hatches feed into seven holds, where she is capable of carrying 78,850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Her self-unloading equipment consists of a loop belt conveyor feeding a stern-mounted 250-foot-long unloading boom that can be swung 92 degrees to port or starboard and can discharge at a rate of up to 6,000 short tons of coal per hour.

She was the first 1,000-footer built at Bay Shipbuilding and is one of 13 such vessels plying the Great Lakes. This design was also used in the construction of the 1,000-footers Burns Harbor, Columbia Star, Indiana Harbor and Oglebay Norton. Belle River was the sixth of 10 vessels built for American Steamship Co. under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. This program allowed fleets to build new or modernize existing vessels by government-guaranteed financing and tax-deferred benefits.

On May 25, 1990, the Belle River was rechristened Walter J. McCarthy Jr. after the retired chairman of Detroit Edison during ceremonies at their Recors Point power plant. This vessel has been used almost exclusively to carry low-sulfur western coal from the Superior Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, WI, to the Detroit Edison Belle River Power Plant at St. Clair, MI (Recor Point). She occasionally coal to Detroit Edison in Monroe, MI, and also carries the odd spot load of taconite pellets.

While docking for winter layup, the McCarthy struck a submerged object at the Hallet No. 8 Dock at Superior, Wisconsin, on January 14, 2008. The ship suffered extensive damage, with a large hole in its hull, which flooded the engine room, causing her stern to sink to the bottom. The damage required repairs at a cost of about $5 Million. The McCarthy returned to service on May 6, 2008.

In February 2020, Rand Logistics announced that they purchased American Steamship Company from their parent company GATX Corp. No immediate changes were made to the fleet, and the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. returned to service as usual.

The Walter J. McCarthy Jr. remains active in the coal transport between Superior, Wisconsin, and DTE’s coal plants in the Detroit region, while finding herself more and more involved in the ore trade as the coal market continues to diminish.

Written by George Wharton and Brendan Falkowski