H. Lee White - Just Hum Along If You Don't Know the Words

This is the H. Lee White seen departing Duluth, Minnesota around 4:00am on June 5, 2024. She had brought in dolomite from Port Dolomite, Michigan to discharge at the Hallett 5 dock in West Duluth. After less than ten hours in port she was departing empty, bound for Thunder Bay to take on her next cargo. The video starts as the White makes her way across the St. Louis River Bay before passing under the John A. Blatnik bridge at Rice's Point. We then catch up with her again at Canal Park where she make the turn towards the canal and passes under the Aerial Lift Bridge as she makes her way onto Lake Superior. We briefly got a light rain shower, which can be seen in the bright spotlight from the White's pilot house.
There was no salute for this departure, but that was not unexpected, given the hour of her departure. Also, I'm pretty sure I was the only one standing on the piers to wave her off... so she didn't exactly have a large crowd to entertain! One distinctive sound we did hear on this departure was the hum of the H. Lee White's two diesel engines. Of all of the ships on the Great Lakes, the hum from the White is quite unique and very distinctive. Not even her fleet mates with similar engines make the same sound. And while some of the tug-barge combos also have their own hum, they still don't sound quite the same as the White. On a still night like this one, the sound of her hum can be heard from some distance away.
The 704-foot H. Lee White was launched in December 1973 and made her maiden voyage in June 1974. She is powered by twin V-20 3,600 horsepower GM diesel engines and has both bow and stern thrusters that help her maneuver while in port. Her six cargo holds are accessed by 23 hatches on deck, giving her a maximum capacity of 35,200 tons. Her self-unloading system that can discharge 6,000 tons per hour. Due to her length of less than 740 feet, she is one of relatively few American-flagged vessels that transits the Welland Canal between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. She has sailed her entire career for the American Steamship Company up until early 2021, when she was leased to and operated by Grand River Navigation.
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