H. Lee White

Built by the Bay Shipbuilding Corp., Sturgeon Bay, WI, for the American Steamship Co., Buffalo, NY, H. Lee White (2) was launched December 3, 1973 and sailed on her maiden voyage June 1, 1974. This self-unloading bulk freighter is powered by twin V-20 3,600 horsepower GM diesel engines. She has bow and stern thrusters and a self-unloading system that can unload ore pellets up to 6,000 tons per hour. Her six cargo compartments are fed by 23 hatches, allowing her to carry up to 35,200 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 30 feet 8 inches. She is one of only a few vessels in the Great Lakes American fleet whose size permits her to transit the Welland Canal (the maximum canal length being 740 feet).

H. Lee White (2) was the third of 10 ships constructed under the provisions of Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 for the American Steamship Co. This Act allowed for guaranteed government financing and deferred tax benefits for U.S. shipping companies to build new vessels or modernize their fleets.

The vessel has had several accidents of note. She ran aground at Port Dolomite, MI, in June 1974; collided with the Greek salty Georgios in December 1974 near St. Clair, MI; struck the Algoma Steel plant dock at Sault Ste. Marie, ON in July 1976; and struck a section of the toll bridge at Grosse Ile, MI, in September 1992. The bridge accident knocked down a 150-foot span immediately east of the main river channel. The White was not damaged, but a new section of the bridge had to be installed at a cost of $1.7 million. The bridge was back in service in late January 1993.

In 2000, a Federal Court in Detroit held that the Grosse Ile Bridge Co. was the sole cause of the accident. Vindicated in this ruling was Captain John K. Gapczynski of the H. Lee White. According to his family, the ongoing legal action caused Capt. Gapczynski a great deal of distress and he passed away in 1998 before the case was settled. The ruling was appealed in 2002.

Written by George Wharton