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RMS Empress of Ireland

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Empress of Ireland
Career Canadian Red Ensign
Nationality:British
Owner:Canadian Pacific Steamship Company
Builder:Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Glasgow, Scotland
Laid down:Unknown
Launched:January 27, 1906
Christened:January 27, 1906
Maiden voyage:June 29, 1906
Fate:Sunk after colliding with Storstad on May 29, 1914
General characteristics
Tonnage:14,191 Gross tonnes
Displacement:Unknown
Length:570 feet (174.1 m)
Beam: 65.6 feet (19.99 m)
Draught:Unknown
Power: Quadruple expansion steam engines
Propulsion:Twin Screw
Speed:18 knots
Passenger Capacity:1,580

The Empress of Ireland was a transatlantic ocean liner owned by the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company that sailed between Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, and Liverpool, United Kingdom. She sank on the early morning of May 29, 1914 in the St. Lawrence River after colliding with the Storstad in a disaster which claimed 1,012 lives, making it the worst maritime disaster in Canadian history. However, her sinking was overshadowed by World War I and soon became a forgotten tragedy.

History

Launched on January 26, 1906, the Empress of Ireland measured 570 feet (174 m) in length with a beam of 66 feet (20.1 m) and gross tonnage of 14,191 tons. Her service speed was 18 knots (33 km/h). She had 2 propellers and a capacity of 1,580 passengers and crew.

The vessel, along with her sister ship Empress of Britain, was commissioned by Canadian Pacific Line for the northern Transatlantic route between Quebec, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Interestingly, Empress of Ireland and Empress of Britain were to be named Empress of Austria and Empress of Germany respectively, however the names were changed prior to launching. Both ships had been conceived for hauling mail but soon distinguished themselves as ocean liners, connecting with the parent Canadian Pacific Railway at Quebec City or Montreal.

The CPR and its ocean liners were part of the company's self-proclaimed World's Greatest Transportation System. On June 29, 1906, Empress of Ireland set out on her first trans-Atlantic crossing and soon proved herself as a reliable ship and one of the largest and fastest ships on the northern route.

Disaster

The Empress of Ireland departed Quebec City for Liverpool at 16:30 local time on May 28, 1914 with 1,477 passengers and crew. Henry George Kendall had just been promoted to captain of the Empress of Ireland at the beginning of the month and it was his first trip down the Saint Lawrence River in command of the vessel. Early the next morning on May 29, 1914, the ship was proceeding down the channel near Pointe-au-Père, Quebec (eastern district of the town of Rimouski) in heavy fog. At 02:00 local time, the Norwegian collier Storstad collided with the Empress of Ireland. The Storstad did not sink, but Empress of Ireland, with severe damage to her starboard side, rapidly shipping water, rolled over and sank within 14 minutes, claiming 1,012 passengers and crewmen. There were only 465 survivors, out of which only four were children (the other 314 children were lost). The passengers included all Canadian members of the Salvation Army on the ship, who were traveling to play music for charity. At Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario, there is a monument reading "167 officers and soldiers of the Salvation Army promoted to glory" in the sinking. Ultimately, the immense loss of life can be attributed to three things: the location in which Storstad made contact, failure to close her watertight doors, and failure to close all portholes aboard. The fact that most passengers at the time of the sinking were asleep, most not even awakening, also contributed to the loss of life.

Investigation

The cause of the tragedy was disputed by the surviving crew of the Empress of Ireland and the crew of Storstad. There has been much speculation as to the circumstances of the sinking. One theory involves the positioning of the ships when both encountered the fogbank. According to testimony, Capt. Kendall claimed that he stayed close to shore, encountered the fog, reversed his engines to stop for about 8 minutes, and was rammed by the Storstad, who was executing a hard, 90-degree turn to the starboard. Another theory has the Empress sailing north-northeast into the center of the channel, right into the path of the Storstad.

In 1914, the position of ships in darkness could be determined by the lights they were showing.

White lights mounted on the two main masts were read in conjunction with the red and green lights indicating port and starboard.

A ship showing green to starboard, red to port and one white mast light would be coming directly at the observing vessel.

This was the case on that night and both captains expected to pass each other "green to green". As the fog rolled across the river between the two vessels, what happened next has never been totally clarified.

A ship showing two white mast lights and one green light would be lying across the path of the approaching vessel, exposing the starboard side. A captain in 1914, familiar with the St. Lawrence river, would reasonably be expected to have avoided a collision, if he had been able to see the lights on time. As the Storstad crashed into the Empress it is likely that the fog obscured the other ship until it was too late to take evasive action.

Either the Empress strayed across the Storstad's bows, or the Storstad crossed the Empress's path from port to starboard and executed a 90 degree turn to pierce her starboard side.

If the testimony of both captains is to be believed, the collision happened as both vessels were stationary with their engines stopped.

On June 16, 1914, an inquiry was launched in Quebec City and the crew of Storstad was found responsible for the sinking of Empress of Ireland. However, an inquiry launched by Norwegians disagreed and cleared Storstad's crew for all responsibilities. Instead, they blamed Kendall, captain of Empress of Ireland, for violating the protocol by not passing port to port. Canadian Pacific Railway won a court case against A. F. Klaveness, owner of Storstad, for $2,000,000. Unable to afford the liabilities, A. F. Klaveness was forced to sell Storstad for $175,000 to the trust funds.

The wreck

Shortly after the disaster, a salvage operation began on Empress of Ireland. The salvagers faced the daunting task of recovering bodies as well as valuables inside the ship. They were also faced with limited visibility and strong currents from the St. Lawrence River. One of the divers was killed when he fell from near the highest point of the wreck to the riverbed below and his diving equipment was unable to adjust to the sudden pressure increase. The salvage crew resumed their operations and recovered 318 bags of mail and 212 bars of silver worth $1,099,000. A hole had to be made in the hull of Empress of Ireland so the salvagers could easily retrieve a large safe. In 1964, the wreck was revisited by a group of Canadian divers who recovered a brass bell. In the 1970s, another group of divers recovered a stern telemeter, pieces of Marconi radio equipment, a brass porthole and a compass. Recently, Robert Ballard visited the wreck of Empress of Ireland and found that it was being covered by silt. He also discovered that certain artifacts from fixtures to human remains continued to be taken out by "treasure hunters". Unlike Titanic, which is only accessible with a submersible, Empress of Ireland can be accessed by scuba divers, albeit only highly skilled ones. Numerous recreational divers have since died on the wreck, mostly through penetration accidents.

Design changes

The disaster led to a change in thinking among naval architects with regard to the design of ships bows. The backward slanting bow design of the day (see picture above) caused, in the event of a collision, immediate massive fatal damage below the waterline. The effect of the Storstad's bows on the Empress of Ireland's has been likened to that of a "chisel being forced into an aluminium can" Designers began to employ the raked bows that we are familiar with today, ensuring that much of the energy of a collision is absorbed by the point of the bow above the waterline of the other ship ensuring less damage under the surface.

Last survivor

The last survivor of the shipwreck, Grace Hannagan Martyn, died in St. Catharines, Ontario on May 15, 1995 at the age of 88.

Empress of Ireland was commemorated in a song by Three Pints Gone, a Celtic band specializing in traditional folk songs and sea chanties. "Empress of Ireland" is featured on their CD titled There Is a Ship, all nautical songs. The refrain says, "Nobody there or for miles anywhere/knew she was sailing to the bottom of the sea/Don't remember the Empress of Ireland/but always remember me. "The Empress of Ireland shipwreck is referenced in the Clive Cussler book "Night Probe!"

In the children's television series TUGS, the SS Princess Alice is based on the Empress of Ireland.[citation needed]

See also

Other ships of the Canadian Pacific Railway:

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