RMS Empress of Ireland or Empress Ireland is a British built ocean liner that sank in Rimouski, Canada at a place called Saint Lawrence River. The ship sank when an another ship known to be the SS Storstad collided on the starboard side of the Empress Ireland and sank within 14 minutes killing 1,012 people. There were 465 survivors. The last survivor of the sinking was Grace Hanagan (1907-1995) who was only a child at that time of the sinking.
Background[]
Empress Ireland was the second of a pair of ocean liners ordered by Canadian Pacific Steamships which is part of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The sister ship of the Empress Ireland was the Empress Britain.
Construction[]
Empress Ireland construction in 1904
In 1904, work started at Fairfield Shipbuilding And Engineering in Glasgow, Scotland. The ship was owned by Francis Elgar and was identified as twin screw liners. The maximum speed that the vessel can go is 18 knots. The ship was equipped with 2 funnels and 2 masts. The capacity of the ship was 1,500 people. The boats keel was laid down on April 10th, 1905 for a hull number 443 at Fairfield's berth number 4 next to her sister ship Empress Britain.
Empress Ireland's length was overall 570 ft (170 m)
Empress Ireland was launched on January 27th, 1906. She required a crew of 373 people.
The ships nickname was "Canada Titanic."
Career[]
Empress Ireland departed Liverpool for Quebec City. On her first maiden voyage on June 29, 1906. The following morning she made port at Moville, Ireland.
Over the next 8 years, Empress Ireland completed the same process of transporting cargo and people between United Kingdom and Canada.
Empress Ireland's last photo before sinking
Empress of Ireland's final successful crossing ended when she arrived at Quebec City from Liverpool on 22 May 1914, by which time she'd transported 119,262 passengers westbound to Canada and another 67,838 eastbound to Britain.
Sinking[]
A drawing of the action that took place aboard the capsized Empress Ireland.
On May 28, 1914, Empress Ireland departed Quebec City bound for Liverpool. She was carrying 1,477 people onboard with only 87 booked passages. The Captain at that time was Henry Kendall who survived several shipwrecks including Empress Ireland. On May 29, 1914, the ship was travelling smoothly at Saint Lawrence River. She received a signal from the SS Storstad. Soon, Empress Ireland stopped since fog was blocking its way. The lights on the Storstad was seen heading for the starboard side and crashed into the starboard side causing a big hole in the sinking. Empress Ireland listed heavily to starboard 180 degrees and sank by stern. The captain Henry announced through the megaphone to not launch lifeboats on the port side and only on the starboard side. A lifeboat was launched on the port, when it did the lifeboat was rubbing against the hull and later broke off and capsized killing all those occupants of that lifeboat. People began coming out of portholes. The power went out and the ship started its final plunge. Storstad even gave her lifeboats to rescue anyone in the water. Life vests were all given out. The ship foundered in 14 minutes in Quebec, Canada.
SS Eureka
After sometime later, the ship SS Eureka rescued people from the accident. 1,012 people died in the boat crash and there were only 217 people that survived. Storstad was later repaired after the accident.
There were only 240 bodies recovered from the accident after the accident. William Clark is a survivor of 2 shipwrecks: First Titanic on April 15 1912, and the Empress of Ireland later. The last person alive from the boat crash who was known to be a survivor was Grace Hanagan who only a child aboard the Empress Ireland during the sinking.
A stoker named Frank Tower, nicknamed 'Lucky Frank' claimed that he had survived 3 shipwrecks: the sinking of RMS Titanic, RMS Empress Ireland, and RMS Lusitania. However this was never proven.
Wreck[]
Empress Ireland Wreck
The wreck was found by Canadian divers in 1964, where they recovered a bell which was made out of brass. The wreck is about a depth of 43 ft. There were only 240 bodies recovered from the accident after the accident. The ship was found lying on its starboard side. The wreck will disappear at a certain time. A buoy has been placed to signal the wreck location.
The buoy that locates the Empress Ireland wreck