By James Heinz

(Steinbrenner Story – Chapter Eleven)

George III wanted more out of life than running a mom and pop four ship shipping line.

George III also had problems with the conservative ways his father was running Kinsman, pointing out that the company had $1 million in a non-interest bearing checking account. George, who was proving to be just as tough a son of a bitch as his father has been described, eventually wore the old man down.

Henry II grew tired of arguing with George III and began to yield more control to him. In 1963, Henry II decided to retire. One witness said, “He shoved his dad out, basically.”  George III borrowed $10,000 to buy out his family. Once in control of the company, George renamed it Kinsman Marine Transit Company.

This was a bad time for Great Lakes shipping. Much Great Lakes traffic had involved hauling raw materials for the American steel industry. During World War II, the U.S. Air Force destroyed the Japanese steel industry.  After the war, to bolster Japan as a bulwark against Communism, the U.S rebuilt the Japanese steel mills.  The newer Japanese steel mills were newer and more efficient and had lower labor costs, and the American steel industry began its downward slide.

George III still saw a future in the Great Lakes shipping when others did not. He responded to these changes in several ways.  He explained his reasoning in a 1963 interview: “The coal trade and the domestic grain trade still require smaller vessels. The independent operator, however, must know his place, he must limit his operation to small or medium size ships, and he must keep his overhead in line with earnings and make the most of the opportunities open to these carriers.” The interview stated that as of 1963, “34 ships had sailed under the Minch-Steinbrenner flag, including 14 schooners and 20 steamers.”

First, he began moving Kinsman Transit away from steel related cargoes into shipping grain, especially from Duluth to Buffalo.  Grain did not face cheaper foreign competition.

As the 1988 article states: “He also saw that foreign ore could be imported to the U.S. more cheaply than taconite…at the same time the government’s intention of increasing its food assistance program to developing countries promised a strong grain trade.  Between 1970 and 1980, tonnages of ore carried by Great Lakes carriers declined 17 percent; over the same period grain shipments rose 32 percent.”

Second, he began driving his competitors out of business or buying them out.  He told an executive of a competing independent fleet that the executive should come to work for George III because George III was going to put the competing firm out of business, which George III did by 1964.

He also got rid of many of Kinsman’s older ships and bought newer ships, including four from U.S. Steel. George III also bought three ships from Republic Steel, five from the Buckeye Steamship Company, five from the Pittsburg Steamship Company, three from Republic Steel, ten from Wilson Marine Transit, and seven from Boland and Cornelius, among others.

One of the ships he sold in 1969 was the PHILIP MINCH II, which had been owned by Kinsman since it was built in 1905 at Cleveland Shipbuilding. She was 5,865 tons, 480 feet long, and 52 feet wide.  In 1944, she rammed and sank the FRANK E. VIGOR in heavy fog in the Pelee Passage on Lake Erie. All crewmen on the VIGOR were taken aboard the MINCH.

Second mate Edward Shaw made up for this when in 1925 he saved the life of a Native American girl who had fallen off an ore dock at Ashland, Wis.  He repeated the feat in 1942 when he saved the life of a fireman who had fallen off the J. F. SCHOELLKOPF.

In 1958 Shaw received an Outstanding Citizen Award from the Milwaukee Police Department when, as 2^nd mate of the PHILIP MINCH II, he rescued a mother and her 3 year old daughter when they fell 40 feet from Milwaukee’s 16^th Street Viaduct into the Menomonee River.  Another man had dived into the river and managed to hold the two females to a life preserver, but became exhausted and sank.  Shaw placed his arm under the child’s head and was able to hold the mother’s head above water while he paddled the life preserver to shore.

In 1969 she was scrapped in Spain.

In 1965 George III bought the 1906 built NORMAN B. REAM, which had been inactive since 1960, and renamed her KINSMAN ENTERPRISE I.  She was sold in 1975, converted to a bean pellet storage barge in 1979, and scrapped in 1989.

In 1965 he also bought the 1907 built FRANCIS E. HOUSE, which had also been inactive since 1960. She was renamed KINSMAN INDEPENDENT.  After a grounding in 1973 she was sold for scrap in 1974.

Also, in 1965 George III bought the NIAGARA MOHAWK and renamed her the PEAVEY PIONEER. She was built in 1905 and was 6,053 tons and 480 feet long and 52 feet wide.  She had a unique distinction.

She was the only Kinsman ship to have ever gone to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involved precedent set by none other than the steamer UMBRIA many years earlier.

On November 2, 1948, she was known as the JOHN J. BOLAND and owned by the American Steamship Company. That night the Gales of November had not yet come early, but the fog of November had definitely arrived.  Visibility on the Canadian side of the Middle Ground at the west end of Lake Erie was about 200 feet.  Even worse, it was 12:02 am.

The BOLAND was upbound without cargo.  The bulk carrier FRANK ARMSTRONG, owned by Interlake Steamship Company, was downbound with 13,346 tons of iron ore.  The ARMSTRONG was one of the newest ships on the Lakes, having been built in 1943. She carried radar but the BOLAND did not.

Advised by another vessel by radio that four ships were approaching the ARMSTRONG on a reciprocal heading, the master of the ARMSTRONG observed the four ships on radar. He then altered course 5 degrees to pass the first of the four ships off his port bow.  At 11:45 pm he exchanged whistle signals with that ship, which was about a half mile away, but did not look at the radar again.

The master and first mate of the ARMSTRONG testified that they exchanged whistle signals with the BOLAND, the next ship in line, at 11:55 pm and that they immediately checked their speed down from full speed to half speed. The whistle signals indicated that the BOLAND was off her port bow so they also altered course 20 degrees to the right to avoid a collision.

Unfortunately, the BOLAND was actually off the starboard bow.  The 20 degree course change caused the stern of the BOLAND to strike the port bow of the ARMSTRONG about 15 feet back from her stem.

The federal circuit and appellate courts found both ships equally liable.  The BOLAND’s owner appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court that the ARMSTRONG was primarily at fault because she failed to reduce her speed in fog, did not consult her radar, made a serious course change In heavy fog, and left the scene of the incident without stopping to render aid even though the ship suffered only light damage. The charge of not reducing speed in fog was founded upon a precedent established in a previous case involving none other than the steamer UMBRIA mentioned earlier.

One point of contention was the discrepancy between what the master and first mate of the ARMSTRONG said they did in ordering a reduction in speed and what the chief engineer of the ship said they did.  The engineer’s testimony indicated that the ARMSTRONG was proceeding at full speed until 30 seconds before the collision. There was also disagreement between the deck and engineering log entries.

The ARMSTRONG’s owners countered by pointing out that the BOLAND did not reduce her own speed, did not answer all whistle signals, did not point her searchlight upwards as the ARMSTRONG did, that damage to the ARMSTRONG was so severe that she had to leave the scene, that the radar was not working dependably and that the she tried to contact the BOLAND by radio after the collision but received no reply.

Unfortunately for American Steamship Company, the U.S. Supreme Court denied their request for a writ of certiorari, which meant the court refused to hear the case and allowed the lower court rulings to stand.

Even more unfortunately, nowhere in the record of the appeal to the court and the response to the appeal does either shipping company happen to mention that one man was killed on the BOLAND.

PEAVEY PIONEER only made a few trips for Kinsman.  In the spring of 1966, she went aground at Ashland, Wis. Examined at Superior, she was found to have damaged so many bottom plates that she was deemed a total constructive loss and sold for scrapping, which was done in 1969.

On May 22, 1968, the 1907 built JOSEPH BLOCK ran aground in the Port des Mort Passage between the tip of the Door Peninsula and Washington Island.  She was freed the same day and put into drydock at Manitowoc, where she was found to have damaged about 100 of her bottom plates.  She was surrendered to the insurance company as a total constructive loss.

In 1969 American Shipbuilding bought her, repaired her, transferred her to Kinsman Marine Transit, and renamed her GEORGE M. STEINBRENNER II.  In 1974 she was laid up at Toledo until 1977 when she was found to be in such poor condition that she was sold for scrap.

In 1970 he bought the 1907 built E. A. S. CLARKE, which had been laid up since 1961, and renamed her KINSMAN VOYAGER.  She was sold in 1975 and towed across the Atlantic and used as a storage barge in Hamburg, Germany until 1978, when she was scrapped.

One reason George III bought old ships that had been inactive for years is that he could buy them for almost scrap value, another example of Steinbrenner frugality.

In 1977 George III bought the former U.S. Steel bulker RICHARD V. LINDABURY and renamed her KINSMAN INDEPENDENT, apparently as a replacement for the KINSMAN VOYAGER. She was put to use transporting grain from Duluth to Oswego.  She apparently remained in service until 2003, when she was retired.

In 1972 he bought the Great Lakes Towing Company, which also had its own shipyard in Cleveland. George had to sell it a year later due to anti-trust issues.  George also bought both companies that supplied the stevedores to the docks at Cleveland, which also raised anti-trust issues.

Golenbock says that many of Henry IIs friends and business associates steered business towards George. And, oddly for a man who wanted to control everything, George brought the seaman’s labor unions aboard his ships.

All this required a great deal of money in addition to the $1 million in the Kinsman checking account. George III could not persuade a Cleveland bank to loan him any money.  He was able to convince a small New York bank to loan him $25,000. Once he did this, he was able to persuade Union Commerce Bank of Cleveland to loan him even more money.

The results of George III’s actions were nothing short of spectacular. In a few years he had increased the size of the Kinsman fleet from 4 to 26 ships and tripled the value of the company. WMHS records show that the Nicholas/Minch and Kinsman lines had owned a total of 17 steamers since 1882’s ONOKO.

Around 1975 George III apparently formed another company called Kinsman Lines, to which he transferred several of his ships.  In 1988 Kinsman Marine Transit purchased the 1952 built ERNEST R. BREECH and renamed her KINSMAN INDEPENDENT. She was put to use hauling grain.

On November 24, 1990, she ran aground near Siskwit Bay. Repair costs were estimated to be over $1 million.  In December the U.S. Coast Guard concluded that human error was the cause. The captain and third mate received suspensions of their licenses in 1991.

In 1999 three “grain scoopers” were injured while unloading the ship in Buffalo.  The ship was unloaded using men with shovels to scoop the grain into a suction tube.

On Dec 11, 2002, she made her last voyage as a US grain carrier, loading 15,000 tons, or 600,000 bushels of wheat in Duluth for transport to Buffalo.

In 2004 Kinsman sold her to a Canadian firm who renamed her VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT.  In 2005 a fire broke out in her engine room while she was docked at Hamilton, Ontario, having her steam power plant replaced with a modern diesel one.  She was renamed OJIBWAY in 2008.  In 2017 while laid up she suffered a galley fire. She was scrapped in 2022.

The last ship George III bought seems to have been the HARRY COULBY, built in 1927 at Cleveland Shipbuilding. It seems George III bought her in 1988 after she had been laid up since 1981 and renamed her KINSMAN ENTERPRISE II. She went inactive in 1996, apparently being used as a grain storage barge. In 2002 she was sold for scrap to a Canadian firm. In 2003 one of the men scrapping her suffered a badly broken leg when 100 feet of anchor chain fell on him.

In the late 1970s Kinsman operated 23 vessels.  However, starting in 1979, the worst recession in the history of Great Lakes shipping reduced the fleet to 3 vessels by 1988.  One of these was the HENRY STEINBRENNER IV, which was still hauling grain, and, like the other two vessels in the Kinsman fleet, was still powered by coal.  The 1988 article stated: “Kinsman’s ancient freighters pass downbound tows of dead ships-some built decades after the Steinbrenner-making their final voyage to the shipbreakers.”

One thing that kept Kinsman shipping grain is that the 1980 deregulation of the nation’s railroads let the railroads cut their rates in an effort to drive Kinsman out of business.  However, the grain mills “simply don’t trust the railroads. If Kinsman ever left the business the railroads would have a free hand to raise rates to whatever they could get away with.”

Other factors that kept Kinsman in the grain trade were the added costs of loading and unloading rail cars. Kinsman’s ancient ships could still pass through waterways established at the time those old ships were built to grain elevators that were inaccessible to the new 1,000 footers, even if the new ships could carry five times the load as the Kinsman coal burners. One Kinsman vessel, the 1910 built JAMES E. FERRIS, was for many years the only ship small enough to get up the river to the Montana Mills mill in Cleveland.

And, unlike what we are about to see, the Kinsman labor unions made concessions to keep the line operating.

Photo at the top: HENRY STEINBRENNER (4TH) 214234 photo by Bob Campbell

Photo credit:  Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society

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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.

GEORGE STEINBRENNER, GREAT LAKES SHIP OWNER – Chapter One

THE WRECK OF THE WESTERN RESERVE – Chapter Two

NUTTY PHIL AND THE WRECK OF THE ONOKO – Chapter Three

SOPHIA MINCH AND THE WRECK OF THE SOPHIA MINCH – Chapter Four

HENRY STEINBRENNER I, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, AND THE WRECK OF THE HENRY STEINBRENNER I – Chapter Five

THE WRECK OF THE ANNA C. MINCH – Chapter Six

HENRY STEINBRENNER II AND THE SHIPWRECK THAT BECAME A SHIP AGAIN – Chapter Seven

AN OLDIE BUT A GOLDIE: HENRY STEINBRENNER II AND THE J. B. FORD – Chapter Eight

HENRY III AND GEORGE STEINBRENNER III: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON – Chapter Nine

KINSMAN TRANSIT IS IN TROUBLE – Chapter Ten

GEORGE III SAVES KINSMAN TRANSIT – Chapter Eleven

GEORGE III SAVES AMERICAN SHIPBUILDING – Chapter Twelve

THE DEATH OF AMERICAN SHIPBUILDING – Chapter Thirteen

GEORGE STEINBRENNER III AND HIS LEGACY – Chapter Fourteen