Pride of the Canadian Pacific's Atlantic Fleet

Outside of these interested in steamships, few people have heard of the Empress of Ireland, which sank in the St. Lawrence River in May 1914.   This tragic accident took the lives of 1,012 passengers and crew in the space of fourteen horrific minutes. 

The loss of the Empress remains Canada’s worst maritime disaster and if one considers the both St. Lawrence and Chicago Rivers as part of the Great Lakes, it surpasses the capsizing of the Eastland in Chicago (also in 1914) for number of passengers lost.  Beyond the riverside port of Rimouski and homeport of Liverpool, the sinking did not capture the public’s attention and the tragedy was overshadowed by the bloodshed and devastation of the Great War a few months later.  It is an important story to tell and one that has come alive in the twenty-first century.

1:1250 model of the Empress of Ireland by Rainer Gouls.

The Empress of Ireland was launched in the winter of 1906 at Fairfield Shipbuilders on the Clyde.  Commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railroad’s Atlantic service, she was built alongside her sister ship, the Empress of Britain, as the company’s flagship.  Neither ship was close to the largest or fastest ships on the North Atlantic, but they were the decidedly larger and more luxurious than their fleet mates and certainly competitive with other vessels designated on the run to Canada.

Empress of Britain postcard ca. 1910.

CPR was a newcomer to the Atlantic passenger trade acquiring fifteen vessels—and their crews—from the Elder Dempster Line in 1903.  In a single move, CPR eliminated a competitor and established a comprehensive transportation system.

One of Canadian Pacific’s’ selling points was that a passenger could travel from Liverpool to Tokyo and never leave a Canadian Pacific conveyance.  The railroad spanned North America from Quebec to British Columbia, and a small fleet of passenger and cargo vessels served each port.  CPR’s Atlantic vessels were, like other companies, larger and faster than those on other sailing routes.  The Empresses were intended to attract both first class passengers to travel in the comfort of the rail & ship service but also emigrants coming to Canada.  The main innovation of the Empresses was to accommodate third-class passengers in cabins rather than dormitories, as was the standard of the day.

Empress of Ireland in harbor.  White Star Line's Ceramic is in the background.  Harbor accessories by Triang-Minic.

The Empress of Ireland made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Quebec in late June, 1906.  She made 95 voyages over the next eight years.  On May 28, 1914, she was outbound from Quebec on the start of her 96^th voyage.  Under the guidance of the pilot, she gradually picked up steam on the calm seas of the St. Lawrence.  The sight of land surely must have calmed passengers nervous to be at sea.  So did the ubiquitous presence of lifeboats and a scheduled lifeboat drill.  There was no worry of another disaster like that of the Titanic unfolding. 

By unknown. from the collection of Matthews, James Skitt, Major (1878-1970) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.  City of Vancouver Archives.

Shortly after midnight, the Empress stopped off Rimouski to exchange mail and drop off the pilot.  As she steamed away, she was in the hands of her captain, George Kendall.  Kendall was an experienced sailor and esteemed officer, but was new to the captaincy of the Empress.   As the she was underway, a blanket of fog descended upon the St. Lawrence.

The Empresses were built with classic steamship design of two funnels and two masts.  The booms are extended for handling cargo.

A few miles downriver, and invisible to the Empress is the Norweigian collier, Storstad.  At 1:38 AM, the lookout sights a mastlead light ahead.  Kendall ordered a change of course, but the die was cast.  Despite signals from foghorns the ships were lost in the fog and on a collision course.  The Storstad slammed into the Empress and she immediate began flooding at the rate of 50,000 gallons a minute.  No ship could survive such a wound. 

Within minutes, the wireless operator sent out distress calls, and then the power failed.  The Empress began listing sharply.  Those awake on the upper decks—mostly crewmen and men in the smoking rooms—were able to reach the few lifeboats that were launched.  There simply was not time for an evacuation.  Fourteen minutes after the collision, the Empress was gone. Those who were not pulled into a lifeboat succumbed to hyperthermia.  Some people in the water were found and pulled out by the Storstad and vessels from Rimouski.  Due to the fog, many were not spotted until it was too late.  Of the 1,477 passengers and crew aboard, 465 were rescued, mostly crewmembers who were awake. 

Captain Kendall.  Agence Rol [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Among the survivors was Captain Kendall, washed from the bridge.  An inquiry absolved him of blame, but he never commanded another CPR liner.  The bulk of his later career was at a desk as Marine Superintendent.

Because the Empress of Ireland sank in a known location in shallow water, she was within reach of divers in 1914.  Salvers blasted a hole in the hull to retrieve the mail and a shipment of currency.  She lay neglected until the 1960s when SCUBA divers began exploring the wreck and salvaging items.  The wreck was picked over off an on until protected as historic site in the late 1990s. 

Location of the wreck of the Empress of Ireland.  NOAA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Empress of Britain sailed as a troopship during the war and resumed commercial sailings during the early 1920s.  In 1924, the ship was renamed Montroyal.   She was sold for scrap in 1930 and replaced with a newer Empress of Britain in 1930.

RMS Empress of Ireland (1906-1914) built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan, Scotland.  14,191 GRT, 570 feet long, 65 feet wide.  Steam quadruple expansion engines geared to twin screw.  Service speed 18 knots.  1,580 total passengers (350 first class, 350 second class, 1000 third).