Empress of Ireland - 100 Years

The Empress of Ireland was a mail steamer, built in Glasgow, Scotland and launched in 1906. She sailed under the flag of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, along with her sister ship, the Empress of Britain. 

The Empress of Ireland sailed from Quebec city across the Atlantic Ocean to Liverpool, England. At nearly 14,500 tons, capable of sailing 17 knots, the Empress was one of the largest and fastest ships operation her route. 

Although she did not have the speed of the Cunard fleet's ships, nor the luxury of the White-Star line's Olympic class fleet, the Empress was still a fine ocean liner. 

For most of her career, the Empress ran without any sort of real mishap, until the fateful night of May 29th, 1914.

The Empress had just set sail from Quebec with a load of 1,477 people on board. As she ventured on her journey, she caught sight of another ship, a Coal-carrying ship from Norway, named the Stortstad, coming right at her. Because the two ships were 'starboard-to-starboard' standard procedure was to keep on course in order to prevent collision. In order to give the Stortstad more space, Kendall ordered the Empress to reverse engines and manouver out of the way, being sure to signal with her whistle three times.

However, in error the crew of the Storstad turned to starboard, placing them right in the path of the Empress of Ireland. The Bow of the Storstad smashed into the starboard side of the Empress, right above and below the waterline where her engine room was located. In moments, the engine room filled with water, making her unable to beach herself, or shut her water-tight compartments. The ship was only able to send out a single SOS before her electrical system failed. The ship began to list over to her right side, allowing more water to enter through portholes which had been left open to allow the passengers some fresh air. Those unfortunate souls who left theirs open had only minutes to realize what had happened.

Only a few managed to get out on deck before the Empress violently rolled over onto her side. Hundreds, including Captain Kendall were tossed into the water. For a moment, there was hope the Empress had touched the bottom of the river, but in only seconds, the stern rose out of the water, and the Empress sank into the icy waters of the St. Lawrence river. She went under in only Fourteen Minutes.

With only four lifeboats launched, Kendall began to organizing a rescue, but ultimately, the Empress was gone, and she took 1,012 lives with her. Those who were alive were picked up by the Storstad. Upon boarding, Kendall said only a simple phrase to her captain:

"You sank my ship."

An inquiry into the disaster found the Storstad at fault, and in order to pay reparations, she was sold off.

The Empress of Ireland disaster is one of the worst tragedies in Canadian History, but it occurred only months before the outbreak of the First World War. She sits between the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, and the torpedoing of the Lusitania in 1917. A Ghost Liner of history, that many know little of.

Today, the Empress lays on her side in only 40 meters of water. A large hole blown into her side by Canadian Pacific to retrieve bodies, as well as her cargo of silver bullion and mail allows entrance into her depths, making her a popular, but extremely dangerous site for divers. Nine people have died while exploring the Empress of Ireland.

One of the more ghastly aspects of the wreck is the Stewards Dormitory, where the bones of sixty men still lay in a heap, a reminder of that tragic night.


Although she may have been lost to the world, she will never be lost to history.