View source for RMS Empress of Ireland

{{short description|Canadian ocean liner that sank in 1914}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Empress of Ireland|Queen of Ireland}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = RMS Empress of Ireland Colored Picture.png
| Ship caption = Colourised photo of ''Empress of Ireland''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship name = RMS ''Empress of Ireland''
| Ship owner = [[File:Canadian Pacific house flag.svg|border|20px]] [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]
| Ship operator = [[File:Canadian Pacific house flag.svg|border|20px]] [[CP Ships|Canadian Pacific SS Co]]
| Ship registry = [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]]
| Ship route = 
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng Co]], [[Govan]]
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship yard number = 443
| Ship way number = 
| Ship laid down = 10 April 1905
| Ship launched = 27 January 1906
| Ship completed = 
| Ship christened = 27 January 1906
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship maiden voyage = 29 June 1906
| Ship in service = 27 January 1906
| Ship out of service = 29 May 1914
| Ship identification = *UK [[official number]] 123972
*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]] MPL
| Ship fate = Sank after collision with SS {{SS|Storstad||2}} on 29 May 1914
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Ocean liner]]
| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|14191}}; {{NRT|8028}}
| Ship length = {{cvt|570|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|oa]]; {{cvt|548.9|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|pp]]
| Ship beam = {{cvt|65.7|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship height = 
| Ship draught = 
| Ship depth = {{cvt|36.7|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship decks = 4 steel decks
| Ship power = 3,168 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]
| Ship propulsion = *2 × [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|Quadruple-expansion steam engine]]s
*2 × [[Screw ship|Screw]] propellers
| Ship speed = {{convert|18|kn}}
| Ship capacity = *1,542 passengers <small>in 1906</small> 
*310 First Class
*468 Second Class
*494 Third Class
*270 Steerage
| Ship crew = 373 <small>in 1906</small>
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{designation list|embed=yes|designation1=Canada
| designation1_date = 2009
| designation1_number = 
|designation2=|designation3=|designation4=|designation5=}}
|}

'''RMS ''Empress of Ireland''''' was a British-built [[ocean liner]] that [[Sinking of the RMS Empress of Ireland|sank]] near the mouth of the [[Saint Lawrence River]] in Canada following a collision in thick fog with the Norwegian [[Collier (ship)|collier]] {{SS|Storstad||2}} in the early hours of 29 May 1914, en route to Liverpool. Although the ship was equipped with [[watertight compartment]]s and, in the aftermath of the [[Sinking of the RMS Titanic|''Titanic'' disaster]] two years earlier, carried more than enough [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] for all aboard, she foundered in only 14 minutes. Of the 1,477 people on board, 1,012 died, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history.<ref name="archives_investigating">{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/shipwrecks/002031-4100-e.html |title=Investigating the Empress of Ireland |work=Shipwreck Investigations at Library and Archives Canada |publisher=Library and Archives Canada |date=14 February 2006 |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="reportq17">Cd. 7609, p. 25.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/introduction.cfm |work=Lost Ship Recovered Voyages |title=The Empress of Ireland |publisher=Royal Alberta Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313051212/https://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/introduction.cfm |archive-date=13 March 2009 |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref>{{efn|The [[Halifax Explosion]], which claimed more lives than the sinking of ''Empress of Ireland'', was not caused by military action. However, it cannot be considered a "peacetime maritime disaster" because it took place during [[World War I]] and involved munitions destined for the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].}}

[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering]] built ''Empress of Ireland'' and her [[sister ship]], {{RMS|Empress of Britain|1905|2}}, at [[Govan]] on the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] in Scotland.<ref name="archives_investigating"/> The liners were commissioned by [[Canadian Pacific Steamships]] or CPR for the [[Transatlantic crossing|North Atlantic route]] between [[Liverpool]] and [[Quebec City]]. The transcontinental CPR and its fleet of ocean liners constituted the company's self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Transportation System". ''Empress of Ireland'' had just begun her 96th voyage when she was lost.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/survivors.cfm |title=The Empress of Ireland: Survivors |work=Lost Ship Recovered Voyages |publisher=Royal Alberta Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313091631/https://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/survivors.cfm |archive-date=13 March 2009 |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref>

The wreck of ''Empress of Ireland'' lies in {{cvt|40|m}} of water, making it accessible to advanced divers.<ref name = Respect>{{cite web |url= http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/respect.cfm |title=The Empress of Ireland: Respecting the Wreck |work=Lost Ship Recovered Voyages |publisher=Royal Alberta Museum |date=6 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090312061421/https://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/respect.cfm |archive-date=12 March 2009 |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref> Many artifacts from the wreckage have been retrieved, some of which are on display in the Empress of Ireland Pavilion at the ''[[Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père]]'' in [[Rimouski]], [[Quebec]], and at the [[Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21]] in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]]. The Canadian government has passed legislation to protect the site.<ref name="protect">{{cite web |url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/protect.cfm |title=The Empress of Ireland: Protecting the Empress |work=Lost Ship Recovered Voyages |publisher=Royal Alberta Museum |date=6 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090312061354/https://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/empress/protect.cfm |archive-date=12 March 2009 |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref>
[[File:EMPRESS OF IRELAND - Sjöhistoriska museet - Fo210199.tif|thumb|220x124px | right | RMS ''Empress of Ireland'']]

==Background==
''Empress of Ireland'' was the second of a pair of [[ocean liner]]s ordered by [[Canadian Pacific Steamships]] during their early years in operation on the [[North Atlantic]]. In 1903, Canadian Pacific officially entered the market for trans-Atlantic passenger travel between the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and [[Canada]]. In February of that year, they had purchased [[Elder Dempster Lines#Elder Dempster and Company|Elder Dempster & Co]], through which they obtained three ships from Elder's subsidiary, the Beaver Line. These ships were ''Lake Champlain'', ''Lake Erie'' and ''Lake Manitoba'', with ''Lake Champlain'' being the first to sail on the company's established route between [[Liverpool]], [[England]] and [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], the following April. The line proved to be successful on the North Atlantic trade, as in that first year, thirty-three westbound crossings were completed by those three ships, on which a combined total of 23,400 passengers travelled in third class, most of them emigrants bound for Canada.<ref name="britishimmigrants">{{cite web |url=http://www.british-immigrants-in-montreal.com/ship_to_montreal.html |title=Travel by Ship Across the Atlantic |website=british-immigrants-in-montreal.com |publisher=British Immigrants in Montreal |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/cp.shtml |title=Canadian Pacific Line / Canadian Pacific Railway Co. (CPR) / Canadian Pacific Ocean Services (CPOS) |website=theshipslist.com |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref>

==Description and construction==
[[File:19060630 Empress of Ireland Sails - The London Standard.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Announcements of the liner's maiden voyage touted the passenger capacity and the speed of ''Empress of Ireland'' and her near-identical sister ship, ''Empress of Britain,'' achieving passage "between Canada and the Mother Country" in less than four days.<ref name=LondonStandard_Maiden_19060630>{{cite news |title=New Link of Empire / Empress of Ireland Sails |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/london-standard-jun-30-1906-p-7/ |work=The Standard |date=30 June 1906 |location=London |page=7}}</ref>]]
In early 1904 work commenced at [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering]] in [[Glasgow]], Scotland. The liners were designed by [[Francis Elgar]] and were specified to be twin [[Propeller|screw]] liners with service speeds of {{convert|18|kn|lk=in}}. Both were of identical appearance, with two [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] and two [[Mast (sailing)|masts]], with equal passenger capacity of just over 1,500. In the early planning stages, their intended names were to have been ''Empress of Germany'' and ''Empress of Austria'', but were later changed respectively to ''Empress of Britain'' and ''Empress of Ireland'', following the implementation of a policy that any future [[Canadian Pacific]] ship named in the ''Empress'' format would be respectively named after a dependency or colony of the [[British Empire]].<ref>{{cite news |work=The Vancouver Daily World |date=12 August 1905 |title=An Empress Line}}</ref>

The ship's [[keel]] was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 10 April 1905 for hull number 443 at Fairfield's berth number 4 next to her [[sister ship]], {{RMS|Empress of Britain|1906|2}}, which was being built. ''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s length was {{cvt|570|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|overall]]<ref name=Times-1906-0606>{{cite news |title=New Atlantic Steamer.-The twin-screw. |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=6 June 1906 |page=9}}</ref> and {{cvt|548.9|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]]. The [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] was {{cvt|65.7|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|36.7|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=SBS>{{cite web |url= http://clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=6418&vessel=EMPRESS+OF+IRELAND+ |title=Empress of Ireland |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=17 January 2021}}</ref> ''Empress of Ireland'' had twin four-bladed propellers, each driven by a [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|quadruple-expansion steam engine]]. Between them the two engines were rated at 3,168 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]<ref name=SBS/> and gave her a service speed of {{convert|18|kn}}. She had twin funnels and two masts.<ref name=Times-1906-0606/>

''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s safety features included ten [[watertight bulkhead]]s which divided the [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]] into eleven compartments which could be sealed off through the means of closing twenty-four watertight doors. All eleven bulkheads extended from the [[double bottom]] up to directly beneath the Shelter Deck, equivalent to three decks above the [[waterline]]. By design theory, the vessels could remain afloat with up to two adjacent compartments open to the sea. However, what would prove to be the fatal flaw in her design in 1914 was that, unlike aboard {{RMS|Titanic||2}} where the watertight doors could be closed by the means of a switch on the ship's [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]], the watertight doors aboard ''Empress of Ireland'' were required to be closed manually.<ref>Renaud, Anne. "Into the Mist: The Story of the Empress of Ireland", p. 77</ref> Also, in the wake of the [[Sinking of RMS Titanic|''Titanic'' disaster]], ''Empress of Ireland'', like many other liners, had her lifesaving equipment updated. When she first entered service in 1906, she had been equipped with standard wooden [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]], which in 1912 were replaced with sixteen steel lifeboats mounted in conventional radial [[davit]]s, under which were stored another twenty-six wooden collapsible lifeboats, all of which combined had a capacity of 1,686 people, 280 more than the ship was licensed to carry.

''Empress of Ireland'' was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 27 January 1906. With her original configuration she required a crew of 373, and had berths for 1,542 passengers in four classes on seven [[Deck (ship)|decks]].

===Accommodation===
[[File:First Class Entrance on the &#039;Empress of Ireland&#039; (1906) RMG G10653.tiff|thumb|upright=1.5|First class entrance on the lower promenade deck. The stairs go up to the first class music room and down to the first class dining saloon.]]
''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s First Class accommodation, located amidships on the upper and lower promenade and shelter decks, could accommodate 310 passengers when fully booked. Their accommodation included access to the open boat deck and two enclosed [[promenade]] decks which wrapped the full exterior of the upper and lower promenade decks. Located on the upper promenade deck was the music room, with built-in sofas and a grand piano encircling one of the ship's most notable features, the glass dome over the first class dining room. Also on this deck was the top landing of the first class main staircase, which as similarly seen aboard ''Titanic'', faced aft and extended down two decks to the entrance of the first class dining room. Located on the lower promenade deck was the First class library, situated at the forward end of the deck with windows overlooking the ship's bow. Amidships was the first class cafe, which was pierced by the two-story well above the first class dining room, while at the aft end of the deck was the first class smoke room. One deck below on the shelter deck was the elegant first class dining room, which could seat 224 passengers in one sitting. In addition, a separate dining room for up to thirty first class children was located at the forward end of the deck. Finally, scattered across all three decks were arrays of two- and four-berth cabins.

The second class accommodation, in the stern on the lower Promenade, shelter, upper and main decks, could accommodate 150 more passengers than in first class, with a designed capacity for 468 in second class when fully booked. They were allotted open deck space at the after end of the lower promenade deck, extending from the after end of the superstructure to beneath the docking bridge at the end of the stern, while one deck below on the shelter deck was located additional deck space sheltered by the deck above. Also on the shelter deck were the second class smoke room, located at the aft end of the deck and designed in a similar but simpler fashion as what was seen in first class, with built-in sofas lining the outer walls and an adjacent bar. At the forward end of the deck, beneath the aft mast was the second class entrance, with a staircase running down two decks to the main deck. Aft of the main landing was the second class social hall, laid out in a fashion similar to the smoke room and provided with a piano, while forward of the entrance was the second class dining room, large enough to seat 256 passengers at one serving. On the starboard side of the upper deck and in the three compartments aft of the engine room casing on the main deck were an array of two and four berth cabins, designed to be interchangeable to both first class and third class. According to the ship's deck plans, cabins for 134 passengers on the upper deck were designed to be converted to first class cabins if needed, while the cabins for 234 passengers on the main deck could simultaneously be converted to be used for third class passengers if needed.

As for emigrants and lower-class travellers, ''Empress of Ireland'' was designed with accommodations which symbolised the dramatic shift in immigrant travel on the North Atlantic commonly seen between the turn of the 20th Century and the outbreak of the First World War, that being a general layout which included both the 'old' and 'new' [[steerage]].  Combined, these provided accommodation for 764 passengers at the forward end of the ship. Passengers travelling in these two classes had some shared public areas, including access to the forward well deck on the shelter deck, as well as a large open space on the Upper Deck very similar to the open space later seen aboard ''Titanic''. This open space, which spanned the full width of the ship and the length of two watertight compartments, included wooden benches lining the outer walls, and a large children's sand pit enclosed by a wooden fence. At the after end of this space were two smaller public rooms, side by side against the adjacent bulkhead. On the port side was the third class ladies' room, which included a piano, while across on the starboard side was the third class smoke room, complete with an adjacent bar. On the main and lower decks, the accommodations separated, with the 'new' steerage, more commonly referred to as third class, providing for 494 passengers, and the 'old' steerage providing for 270 passengers. Accommodation for Third class consisted of four sections of two, four and six berth cabins, three on the main deck and one on the lower deck, and defined by watertight bulkheads. Directly aft of the section on the main deck was the third class dining room, which was large enough to seat 300 passengers in one sitting. The old steerage consisted of three sections of open berths, one on the main deck and two on the lower deck, all forward of the third class sections. Each section consisted of two-tiered bunks, individual pantries and long wooden tables with benches.

==Career==
Two months after ''Empress of Britain'' entered service, ''Empress of Ireland'' departed Liverpool for [[Quebec City]] on her [[wikt:Special:Search/maiden voyage|maiden voyage]] on Thursday, 29 June 1906. The following morning she made port at [[Moville]], a coastal town on the north coast of Ireland, to pick up a number of Irish immigrants before making for the open [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. On her first trip across the Atlantic she carried 1,257 passengers, with 119 in First Class and 342 in Second Class, and Third Class being booked well past capacity with 796, which included a large number of small children and infants among them.<ref name="ReferenceA">Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865–1935</ref> Seen as a foreshadowing of ''Empress of Ireland'''s popularity with immigrants, Third Class was so heavily overbooked on her maiden voyage that at least 100 passengers who had booked passage aboard her had to be left behind in Liverpool to wait for the next ship.<ref>UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960</ref>

On the afternoon of 6 July, ''Empress of Ireland'' arrived at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, calling at [[Pointe-au-Père, Quebec|Pointe-au-Père]] to pick up a [[Maritime pilot|river pilot]] who would assist in guiding the ship down the final 300-kilometre stretch of the voyage to Quebec City. While off [[Rimouski, Quebec|Rimouski]], another small boat met ''Empress of Ireland'' to collect all Canadian-bound mail and drop off a group of people working to aid in preparing for the liner's arrival. These consisted of [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] (CPR) ticketing agents who would meet with all the passengers to arrange for their transportation by rail to their final destinations across Canada; Canadian immigration and [[customs]] officials who would inspect luggage and check passenger documents, and doctors to examine all passengers to check for any illnesses which would warrant quarantine at [[Grosse Isle]], a process all but one of the ship's passengers passed through successfully. ''Empress of Ireland'' arrived in Quebec City early the following morning, where passengers disembarked and cargo was offloaded, and after a six-day turnaround she sailed on her first eastbound crossing back to Liverpool on 12 July. 
<ref>Renaud, Anne. "Into the Mist: The Story of the Empress of Ireland. pp. 21, 24.</ref>

Over the next eight years, ''Empress of Ireland'' completed the same process of transporting passengers and cargo between Britain and Canada, with alternating Canadian ports by season, terminating at Quebec City in May through October and at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], and [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]], [[New Brunswick]], in November through April when the river was frozen over. By 1913 ''Empress of Ireland'' was equipped with [[wireless telegraphy|wireless]] telegraphy, operating on the 300 and 600 metre wavelengths. Her [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] was MPL.<ref>[[Marconi Company|The Marconi Press Agency Ltd]], 1913 ''The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony''. London, The St Katherine Press, p. 251</ref>

''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s final successful crossing ended when she arrived at Quebec City from Liverpool on 22 May 1914, by which time she had completed 95 successful round trips, and transported 119,262 passengers westbound to Canada<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and another 67,838 eastbound to Britain.<ref>UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960</ref>

==Final crossing==
{{Main|Sinking of the RMS Empress of Ireland}}

''Empress of Ireland'' departed Quebec City for Liverpool at 16:30 local time ([[Eastern Time Zone (North America)#Canada|EST]]) on 28 May 1914, manned by a crew of 420 and carrying 1,057 passengers, roughly two thirds of her total capacity. In first class, the list of passengers was relatively small, with only 87 booked passages. The small number did not, however, spare the inclusion of some rather notable figures from both sides of the Atlantic.

{{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | total_width =500
| image1 = 19140530 Where the RMS Empress of Ireland Sank - map - The New York Times.jpg | caption1 = Newspaper's firsthand accounts accompany map showing location of the sinking on the St. Lawrence River less than 250 miles (400 km) from Quebec City.<ref name=NYTimes_map_19140530>{{cite news |title=Where the Empress of Ireland Sank With 900 Lives |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-may-30-1914-p-2/ |work=The New York Times |date=30 May 1914 |page=2}}</ref>
| image2 = Henry Kendall Empress of Ireland.jpg | caption2 =Formal portrait of Captain Henry Kendall, the final captain of ''Empress of Ireland''.
}}
* Col. Robert Bloomfield of New Zealand's 3rd Mounted Regiment, his wife Isabella and their daughter Hilda.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://empressofireland.wordpress.com/2017/01/24/bloomfield-colonel-robert-w-r/ |last=Engberg-Klarström |first=Peter |title=Bloomfield, Colonel Robert W. R. |work=Peter's Empress of Ireland Page|date=24 January 2017 }}</ref>
* [[Laurence Sydney Brodribb Irving|Laurence Irving]], son of famous Victorian stage actor [[Sir Henry Irving]], who since 1912 had been on an extended stage tour of Australia and North America, together with his wife and stage partner [[Mabel Hackney]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://empressofireland.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/irving-laurence-sydney-brodribb/ |last=Engberg-Klarström |first=Peter |title=Irving, Laurence Sydney Brodribb |work=Peter's Empress of Ireland Page|date=25 January 2017 }}</ref>
* Sir [[Henry Seton-Karr]], a former member of the British [[House of Commons]] returning home from a hunting trip to [[British Columbia]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://empressofireland.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/seton-karr-sir-henry/ |last=Engberg-Klarström |first=Peter |title=Seton-Kerr, Sir Henry |work=Peter's Empress of Ireland Page|date=25 January 2017 }}</ref>
* Henry Lyman, head of the firm Lyman, Sons & Co, which in 1914 was the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada, who was bound for Europe for a belated honeymoon with his young wife, Florence.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://empressofireland.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/lyman-henry-herbert/ |last=Engberg-Klarström |first=Peter |title=Lyman, Henry Herbert |work=Peter's Empress of Ireland Page|date=25 January 2017 }}</ref>
* Wallace Palmer, associate editor for the ''[[Financial Times]]'' and his wife Ethel.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://empressofireland.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/palmer-wallace-leonard/ |last=Engberg-Klarström |first=Peter |title=Palmer, Wallace Leonard |work=Peter's Empress of Ireland Page|date=25 January 2017 }}</ref>
* George Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://empressofireland.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/smart-george-bogue/ |last=Engberg-Klarström |first=Peter |title=Smart, George Bogue |work=Peter's Empress of Ireland Page|date=25 January 2017 }}</ref>
* Lt. Col. Charles Tylee of the [[Canadian Army]] and his wife Martha.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://empressofireland.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/tylee-lt-col-charles-david/ |last=Engberg-Klarström |first=Peter |title=Tylee, Lt. Col. Charles David |work=Peter's Empress of Ireland Page|date=25 January 2017 }}</ref>

Second class saw a considerably larger booking at just over half capacity with 253 passengers, owed greatly to a large party of [[Salvation Army]] members and their families, numbering 170 in all, who were travelling to attend the 3rd International Salvation Army Congress in [[London]].

Third class saw the largest booking, which with 717 passengers was nearly filled to capacity. This complement reflected greatly the typical mix of steerage travellers seen on eastbound crossings aboard ''Empress of Ireland'' and her running mates on the North Atlantic which paralleled that seen on westbound crossings from Liverpool. While on westbound crossings third class passengers were predominantly diverse mixes of immigrants, eastbound crossings saw equally diverse blends of former immigrants from both Canada and the United States returning to their native countries in Europe. Many were returning to visit relatives, while others were in the process of re-emigrating and resettling.

[[Henry George Kendall]] had been promoted to [[Sea captain|captain]] of ''Empress of Ireland'' at the beginning of the month, and it was his first trip down the Saint Lawrence River in command of her.

===Collision and sinking===
[[File:19140531 Lost Liner&#039;s Captain Testifies - RMS Empress of Ireland - The New York Times.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Within two days, newspapers related Captain Kendall's testimony of his ordering whistle warning blasts and evasive maneuvers as a fog bank closed between the ships.<ref name=NYTimes_CaptainTestimony_19140531>{{cite news|title=His Signals Ignored by Collier, Lost Liner's Captain Testifies; 964 are Dead; Total Rescued 403|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-may-31-1914-p-9/|work=The New York Times|date=31 May 1914|page=1}}</ref>]]
''Empress of Ireland'' reached [[Pointe-au-Père]] in the early hours of 29 May 1914, where the [[Maritime pilot|pilot]] disembarked. She resumed a normal outward bound course of about N76E (076 degrees) and soon sighted the masthead lights of [[SS Storstad|SS ''Storstad'']], a Norwegian [[collier (ship)|collier]], on her [[port and starboard|starboard]] bow at a distance of several miles. Likewise, ''Storstad'', which was abreast of [[Métis Point]] and on a virtually reciprocal course of W. by S. (259 degrees), sighted ''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s masthead lights. These first sightings were made in clear weather conditions, but fog soon enveloped the ships. The ships resorted to repeated use of their fog whistles. At 01:56 local time ''Storstad'' crashed into ''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s starboard side at around midships. ''Storstad'' remained afloat, but ''Empress of Ireland'' was severely damaged. A gaping hole in her side caused the lower decks to flood at a rate alarming to the crew. Captain Kendall shouted to the crew of ''Storstad'' with a megaphone to keep her engines at full power and plug the hole, but ''Empress of Ireland'' continued her forward motion, and the current of the St. Lawrence shoved ''Storstad'' away after about five seconds, allowing {{convert|60000|impgal|L|abbr=off}} of water per second to begin pouring into ''Empress of Ireland''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Norway Heritage |url=http://www.norwayheritage.com/articles/templates/great-disasters.asp?articleid=99&zoneid=1 |title=The Collision between the S/S Empress of Ireland and the S/S Storstad |publisher=Norwayheritage.com |date= |accessdate=2022-05-16}}</ref>
[[File:SS Storstad.jpg|left|thumb|Damage sustained by ''Storstad'' after its collision with ''Empress of Ireland''.]]
[[File:Damaged S.S. "Storstad", Canadian Vickers, Montreal, QC, 1914.jpg|thumb|left|''Storstad'' in Montreal after the collision. Note the damage to the bow]]

''Empress of Ireland'' lurched heavily to starboard and began settling by the stern.<ref>Marshall,&nbsp;L.&nbsp;(2019).&nbsp;The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, and Other Great Sea Disasters.&nbsp;Czechia:&nbsp;Good Press.</ref> There was no time to shut the watertight doors. Water entered through open [[porthole]]s, some only a few feet above the water line, and inundated passageways and cabins. Most of the passengers and crew located in the lower decks drowned quickly. Those berthed in the upper decks were awakened by the collision and immediately boarded lifeboats on the boat deck. Within a few minutes, the ship's [[List (watercraft)|list]] was so severe that the port lifeboats could not be launched. Some passengers attempted to do so but the lifeboats just crashed into the side of the ship, spilling their occupants into the frigid water. Five starboard lifeboats were launched successfully, while a sixth and seventh [[capsizing|capsized]] during lowering.<ref>Cd. 7609, p. 19.</ref>

The lights and power on ''Empress of Ireland'' eventually failed five or six minutes after the collision, plunging the ship into darkness. Ten minutes after the collision, the ship rolled violently over her starboard side, allowing as many as 700 passengers and crew to crawl out of the portholes and decks onto her port side. The ship lay upon her side for a minute or two, having seemingly run aground. Shortly afterwards at 02:10, about 14 minutes after the collision, the bow rose briefly out of the water and the ship finally sank.<ref>Flayhart,&nbsp;W.&nbsp;H.&nbsp;(2003).&nbsp;Perils of the Atlantic: Steamship Disasters, 1850 to the Present.&nbsp;United Kingdom:&nbsp;W.W. Norton.</ref> Hundreds of people were thrown into the near-freezing water. The disaster resulted in the deaths of 1,012 people. After being rescued by the ''Storstad'', Kendall travelled directly to the bridge to confront the recently awoken Captain Thomas Anderson, saying "You have just sunk my ship!".

{{Clear}}

===Casualties and survivors===

[[File:19140531 RMS Empress of Ireland - passenger and crew list - The New York Times.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75 | ''The New York Times'' published this list of survivors and casualties two days after the disaster.<ref name=NYTimes_List_19140531>{{cite news |title=403 of Empress of Ireland's Passengers Survive, Nearly 1000 of Them Went to Death |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-may-31-1914-p-10/ |work=The New York Times |date=31 May 1914 |page=2}}</ref>]]

There were only 465 survivors: 4 children (of 138), 41 women (of 310), 172 men (of 609), and 248 crew (of 420). The fact that most passengers were asleep at the time of the sinking (most not even awakened by the collision) also contributed to the loss of life when they were drowned in their cabins, most of them from the starboard side where the collision happened.

Amongst the dead were the English dramatist and novelist Laurence Irving and his wife Mabel Hackney; the explorer Henry Seton-Karr; Ella Hart-Bennett, the wife of British government official [[William Hart-Bennett]]; and Gabriel J. Marks, the first mayor of [[Suva]], [[Colony of Fiji|Fiji]], along with his wife Marion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thurston Gardens and the Empress of Ireland Tragedy |url=https://www.fijitimes.com/thurston-gardens-and-the-empress-of-ireland-tragedy/ |access-date=24 February 2021 |publisher=Fiji Times |date=1 March 2015}}</ref> Lieutenant Charles Lindsay Claude Bowes-Lyon, a first cousin of the future [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] survived the disaster, but died in combat only five months later on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] near [[Ypres]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lieutenant Charles Lindsay Claude Bowes-Lyon |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205290922 |website=Imperial War Museum |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref> The passengers included 167 members of the Salvation Army. These travellers, all but eight of whom died, were members of the Canadian Staff Band who were travelling to London for an international conference.<ref>[http://www1.salvationarmy.org/heritage.nsf/AllSubCategories?OpenView&RestrictToCategory=%27Empress_of_Ireland%27_-_The_Salvation_Army_Connection&main=Events Empress of Ireland – The Salvation Army Connection] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120525050257/http://www1.salvationarmy.org/heritage.nsf/AllSubCategories?openView&RestrictToCategory='Empress_of_Ireland'_-_The_Salvation_Army_Connection&main=Events |date=25 May 2012}} The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre.</ref><ref>[http://family-tree.co.uk/familyblogs/bessie/files/2007/11/empress-disaster.jpg Great Tragedy of the Sea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229205845/http://family-tree.co.uk/familyblogs/bessie/files/2007/11/empress-disaster.jpg |date=29 February 2012}} ''[[The War Cry]]'', 13 June 1914.</ref>

One of the four children who survived was 7-year-old [[Grace Hanagan]], who was born in [[Oshawa, Ontario|Oshawa]], [[Ontario]], on 16 May 1907, and was travelling with her parents, who were among the Salvation Army members who did not survive.<ref name="NYT_deathtoll">{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1914/05/30/archives/death-toll-of-the-empress-of-ireland-954-lost-of-the-1387-persons.html |title=Death Toll of the Empress of Ireland |newspaper=The New York Times |date=30 May 1914}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/economy-business/transport/empress-of-ireland-sinks-in-the-st-lawrence.html 1914: Empress of Ireland sinks in the St. Lawrence and interview with Grace Martyn (née Hanagan).] The Fifth Estate, Broadcast 23 September 1986. CBC Digital Archives.</ref> Grace was also the last survivor of the sinking and died in [[St. Catharines, Ontario]], on 15 May 1995 at the age of 87.

===Rescue operations===

''Storstad'', which remained afloat, lowered her own lifeboats and began to rescue the survivors in the water. The radio operator at Pointe-au-Père who picked up the emergency signal from ''Empress of Ireland'' notified two Canadian government steamers: the pilot boat ''Eureka'' at Pointe-au-Père Wharf, which left the wharf at full steam at 02:30; followed by the mail ship ''Lady Evelyn'' at Rimouski Wharf which left at 02:45.<ref>John Willis, ''Empress of Ireland:Canada's Titanic'', Canadian Museum of History (2014), p. 86</ref><ref name="times40537">"Great Shipping Disaster."  Times [London, England] 30 May 1914: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 14 October 2013.</ref> ''Eureka'' was first on the scene at 03:10 and rescued about 150 survivors from the water. She brought the survivors first to Pointe-au-Père, but was redirected to Rimouski Wharf where doctors and relief supplies were waiting. ''Lady Evelyn'' arrived at the site of sinking at 03:45. No survivors were left in the water but ''Lady Evelyn'' collected the 200 survivors rescued by ''Storstad'', as well as 133 bodies, and arrived to join ''Eureka'' at the Rimouski Wharf about 05:15.<ref>John Willis, ''Empress of Ireland:Canada's Titanic'', Canadian Museum of History (2014), p. 87</ref> ''Storstad'' was damaged but not severely, so her captain continued on to Quebec.<ref name="times40537" />

One of the survivors was Captain Kendall, who was on the bridge at the time of the collision and quickly ordered the lifeboats to be launched. When ''Empress of Ireland'' lurched onto her side, he was thrown from the bridge into the water, and was taken down with her as she began to go under. Swimming to the surface, he clung to a wooden grate long enough for crew members aboard a nearby lifeboat to row over and pull him in. Immediately, Kendall took command of the small boat and began rescue operations. The lifeboat's crew successfully pulled in many people from the water, and when the boat was full, Kendall ordered the crew to row to the lights of ''Storstad'' so that the survivors could be dropped off. He and the crew made a few more trips between ''Storstad'' and the wreck site to search for more survivors. After an hour or two, Kendall gave up, since any survivors who were still in the water would have either succumbed to [[hypothermia]] or drowned by then. Upon first boarding ''Storstad'', Kendall stormed to the bridge, and levied an accusation at Captain Thomas Andersen: "You have sunk my ship!"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/lostliners/empress.html | title=PBS Online - Lost Liners - Empress of Ireland | website=[[PBS]] }}</ref>

==Investigation==
=== Commissioners ===
[[File:Empress of Ireland Inquiry.jpg|thumb|Inquiry court room presided over by Lord Mersey]]
The Commission of Inquiry, held in Quebec, commenced on 16 June 1914<ref>{{cite journal|title=Report and evidence of the Commission of Inquiry into the loss of the British steamship "Empress of Ireland" of Liverpool (0. No. 123972) through collision with the Norwegian steamship "Storstad", Quebec, June, 1914|url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/chung/chungpub/items/1.0056425|access-date=2021-08-08|website=open.library.ubc.ca|year=1914 |language=en|doi=10.14288/1.0056425|author1=Canada. Commission Of Inquiry Into Casualty To British Steampship "Empress Of Ireland" }}</ref> and lasted for eleven days.<ref>Cd. 7609, p.3</ref> Presiding over the contentious proceedings was [[John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey|Lord Mersey]], who had previously presided over the SOLAS summit the year before, and had headed the official inquiries into a number of significant steamship tragedies, including that of ''Titanic''. The following year, he would lead the inquiry into the sinking of [[RMS Lusitania|''Lusitania'']]. Assisting Lord Mersey were two other commissioners: Sir [[Adolphe-Basile Routhier]] of Quebec, and Chief Justice [[Ezekiel McLeod]] of New Brunswick. All three commissioners were officially appointed by [[John Douglas Hazen]], the Minister of Marine and Fisheries of Canada, under Part&nbsp;X of the ''[[Canada Shipping Act]]''.

=== Twenty questions ===
At the beginning of the Inquiry twenty questions were formulated by the Canadian government. For example, was ''Empress of Ireland'' sufficiently and efficiently officered and manned? (Q.4); after the vessels had sighted each other's lights did the atmosphere between them become foggy or misty, so that lights could no longer be seen? If so, did both vessels comply with SOLAS [[International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea|Articles 15 and 16]], and did they respectively indicate on their steam whistles or sirens, the course or courses they were taking by the signals set out? (Q.11); was a good and proper lookout kept on board of both vessels? (Q.19); and, was the loss of ''Empress of Ireland'' or the loss of life, caused by the wrongful act or default of the Master and First Officer of that vessel, and the Master, First, Second and Third Officers of ''Storstad'', or any of them? (Q.20). All of these questions were addressed by the inquiry and answered in full in its report.

=== Witnesses ===
The inquiry heard testimony from a total of sixty-one witnesses: twenty-four crew and officers of ''Empress of Ireland'' (including Captain Kendall); twelve crew and officers of ''Storstad'' (including Captain Andersen); five passengers of ''Empress of Ireland''; and twenty other people including two divers, two [[Marconi Company|Marconi]] wireless operators at Pointe-au-Père, two naval architects, the [[harbour master]] at Quebec, and crew and officers of several other ships whose involvement either directly or indirectly was deemed pertinent.

=== Two stories ===
[[File:Navigation lights, power vessel over 50m, starboard.gif|thumb|Illustrative navigation lights of ''Storstad'' as were claimed to have been seen from ''Empress of Ireland''.]]

As reported in the newspapers at the time, there was much confusion as to the cause of the collision with both parties claiming the other was at fault.<ref name="NYT_two_theories">{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/06/17/100321810.pdf |title=Hear Two Theories of Empress Wreck |newspaper=The New York Times |date=17 June 1914 |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref> As was noted at the subsequent inquiry, "If the testimony of both captains were to be believed, the collision happened as both vessels were stationary with their engines stopped". The witnesses from ''Storstad'' said they were approaching so as to pass red to red (port to port) while those from ''Empress of Ireland'' said they were approaching so as to pass green to green (starboard to starboard), but "the stories are irreconcilable".<ref>Cd. 7609, p. 11.</ref>

Two very different accounts of the collision were given at the Inquiry.<ref>Cd. 7609, Part II.</ref><ref name="NYT_two_theories" /> ''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s crew reported that after the pilot had been dropped at Pointe-au-Père, the ship proceeded to sea at full speed in order to obtain an [[:wikt:offing|offing]] from the shore. After a short time the masthead lights of a steamer, which subsequently proved to be ''Storstad'', were sighted on the starboard bow, approximately {{convert|6|nmi|km|abbr=off|spell=on}} away, the weather at that time being fine and clear. After continuing for some time, ''Empress of Ireland'' altered her course with the object of proceeding down the river. When making this change, the masthead lights of ''Storstad'' were still visible, about {{convert|4+1/2|nmi|km|0|abbr=off}} away, and according to Captain Kendall it was intended to pass ''Storstad'' starboard to starboard at no risk of collision. The green light of ''Storstad'' was then sighted, but a little later a fog bank was seen coming off the land that dimmed ''Storstad''{{'}}s lights. The engines of ''Empress of Ireland'' were then stopped (and put full speed astern) and her whistle blown three short blasts signifying that this had been done. About a minute later the fog shut out the lights of ''Storstad'' completely. After exchanging further whistle blasts with ''Storstad'', her masthead and side lights were seen by Captain Kendall about 100 feet away almost at right angles to ''Empress of Ireland'' and approaching at high speed. In the hope of possibly avoiding or minimizing the effect of a collision the engines of ''Empress of Ireland'' were ordered full speed ahead, but it was too late and ''Storstad'' struck ''Empress of Ireland'' amidships. Kendall placed the blame firmly on ''Storstad'' for the collision. Famously, the first words he said to Captain Andersen of ''Storstad'' after the sinking were, "You have sunk my ship!".<ref>Sess 21b–1915, p.35 Q.351</ref> He maintained for the rest of his life that it was not his fault the collision occurred.

[[File:Navigation lights, power vessel over 50m, forward.gif|thumb|Illustrative navigation lights of ''Empress of Ireland'' as were claimed to have been seen from ''Storstad'']]
''Storstad''{{'}}s crew reported that the masthead lights of ''Empress of Ireland'' were first seen on the port bow about 6 or {{convert|7|nmi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} away; the lights were at that time open to starboard. A few minutes later, the green side light of ''Empress of Ireland'' was seen apparently from {{convert|3|to|5|nmi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} away. The green light remained for an interval, and then ''Empress of Ireland'' was seen to make a change in her course. Her masthead lights came into a (vertical) line, and she showed both the green and the red side lights. She then continued to swing to starboard, shutting out the green and showing only the red light. This light was observed for a few minutes before being obscured by the fog. At this moment, ''Empress of Ireland'' was about two miles away and ''Storstad''{{'}}s Chief Officer, Mr. Toftenes, assumed that it was ''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s intention to pass him port to port (red to red), which the ships would do with ample room if their relative positions were maintained. After an exchange of whistle blasts with ''Empress of Ireland'', ''Storstad'' was slowed and Captain Andersen (who was asleep in his cabin at the time) was called to the bridge. When he arrived, Andersen saw a masthead light moving quickly across ''Storstad''{{'}}s course from port to starboard whereupon he ordered the engines full speed astern. Immediately after Andersen saw the masthead light, he saw the green light, and a few moments later saw ''Empress of Ireland'' and the ships then collided.

=== Report ===
After all the evidence that had been heard, the Commissioners stated that the question as to who was to blame resolved itself into a simple issue, namely which of the two ships changed her course during the fog. They could come to "no other conclusion" than that it was ''Storstad'' that ported her helm and changed her course to starboard, and so brought about the collision. Chief Officer Toftenes of ''Storstad'' was specifically blamed for wrongly and negligently altering his course in the fog and, in addition, failing to call the captain when he saw the fog coming on.

Ultimately, the swift sinking and immense loss of life was attributed to three factors: the location in which ''Storstad'' made contact, failure to close ''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s watertight doors, and longitudinal bulkheads that exacerbated the list by inhibiting cross flooding. A contributing factor was open portholes. Surviving passengers and crew testified that some upper portholes were left open for ventilation.<ref>Cd. 7609, p. 16.</ref> The [[International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea]] (SOLAS) requires that any openable portholes be closed and locked before leaving port,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imo.org/KnowledgeCentre/ReferencesAndArchives/HistoryofSOLAS/Documents/SOLAS%201914.pdf |title=International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea. "Text of the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. Signed at London, January 20, 1914" |publisher=[[International Maritime Organization]] |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref> but portholes were often left open in sheltered waters like the Saint Lawrence River where heavy seas were not expected. When ''Empress of Ireland'' began to list to starboard, water poured through the open portholes further increasing flooding.

After the official inquiry was completed, Captain Andersen was quoted as saying that Lord Mersey was a "fool" for holding him responsible for the collision. He also announced that he intended to file a [[lawsuit]] against the CPR.<ref>[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NA19140714.2.33&srpos=103&e=-------10--101----0storstad-- ''Thinks him a fool. Storstad Captain's view of Mersey. Unlimited litigation pending''.] Northern Advocate, 14 July 1914 (p.7).</ref>

===Litigation===
The CPR won a court case against [[A. F. Klaveness & Co]], the owners of ''Storstad'', for [[Canadian dollar|C$]]2 million,<ref>"Defense of the Collier's Captain." The Independent [New York] 8 June 1914, 78th ed.: 443. Print.</ref> which is the valuation of [[silver bullion]] stored aboard ''Empress of Ireland'' when she sank.<ref name="NYT article">{{cite news |title=Storstad Claims $50,000 Damages. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=4 June 1914 |edition=63rd ed.: 3. Print}}</ref> The owners of ''Storstad'' entered an unsuccessful counterclaim against the CPR for $50,000 damages, contending that ''Empress of Ireland'' was at fault and alleging negligent navigation on her part.<ref name="NYT article"/> ''Storstad'' was seized at the request of the CPR and sold for $175,000 to Prudential Trust, an insurance company acting on behalf of AF Klaveness & Co.<ref>{{cite news |title=Storstad Bought at Montreal Sale. |newspaper=Toronto Sunday World |date=8 July 1914 |edition=34th ed.: 6. Print}}</ref>

===Aftermath===
On 5 June 1914, Canadian Pacific announced it had chartered the [[Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers|Allan Line]]'s [[SS Drottningholm|''Virginian'']] to fill in the void in service in its fleet left by the loss of ''Empress of Ireland'', joining  ''Empress of Britain'' and other previously acquired Canadian Pacific ships on the Saint Lawrence run. ''Virginian'' embarked from her first voyage from Liverpool under Canadian Pacific service on 12 June, which was to have been the next departure date from Liverpool of ''Empress of Ireland''.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://anextractofreflection.blogspot.com/2014/06/empress-of-ireland-official-inquiry-and.html |title=Empress of Ireland – Official Inquiry and Storstad's Defence |work=An Extract of Reflection|date=9 June 2014 }}</ref>

===''The Last Voyage of the Empress''===
In 2005 a Canadian [[television film]], ''The Last Voyage of the Empress'', investigated the sinking with historical reference, model re-enactment, and underwater investigation. The program's opinion was that the cause of the incident appeared to be the fog, exacerbated by the actions of Captain Kendall. Both captains were in their own way telling the truth, but with Kendall omitting the expediency of commanding ''Empress of Ireland'' in such a way as to keep his company's advertised speed of Atlantic crossing. In order to pass ''Storstad'' (off ''Empress''{{'}}s starboard bow) to quickly expedite this maintenance of speed, Kendall, in the fog, turned to starboard (towards ''Storstad'') as part of a manoeuvre to spin back to his previous heading to pass the other ship as originally intended on his starboard side, thereby avoiding what he saw as a time-wasting diversion from his preferred and fast route through the channel. When Captain Anderson of ''Storstad'' saw ''Empress of Ireland'' through the fog he thought, by seeing both ''Empress of Ireland''{{'}}s port and starboard lights during its manoeuvre, that ''Empress of Ireland'' was attempting to pass on the opposite side of ''Storstad'' than previously apparent and turned his ship to starboard to avoid a collision. However, ''Empress of Ireland'' turned to port to continue on its original time-saving heading; thus the bow to side collision.<ref name="film_lastvoyage"/>

The conclusion of the programme was that both captains failed to abide by the condition that, on encountering fog, ships should maintain their heading, although the captain of ''Storstad'' deviated only after seeing the deviation of ''Empress of Ireland''. In the film, water tank replication of the incident indicated that ''Empress of Ireland'' could not have been stationary at the point of the collision. It also indicated—through underwater observations of the ship's [[engine order telegraph]] in the engine room—that Kendall's assertion that he gave the order to close watertight doors was probably not true.<ref name="film_lastvoyage">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484277/ The Last Voyage of the Empress, 2005] ''IMDb''; retrieved 16 April 2011</ref>

===Legacy===
The sinking of ''Empress of Ireland'' proved that the reverse slanting, inverted or "tumblehome" [[prow]] so common at the time, was deadly in the event of a ship-to-ship collision because it caused massive damage below the waterline, effectively acting as a ram which would smash through an unarmoured hull without difficulty (especially if the ship was steaming at some speed). The bow of ''Storstad'' struck ''Empress of Ireland'' like a "chisel into tin".<ref>Croall, J. (1980) ''Fourteen minutes: The last voyage of the Empress of Ireland''. Sphere, London.</ref> As a result of the disaster, naval designers began to employ the raked bow with the top of the prow forward. This ensured that the energy of any collision would be minimised beneath the surface and only the parts of the bow above the waterline would be affected.

The rapid sinking of ''Empress of Ireland'' has also been cited by 20th-century naval architects, John Reid and William Hovgaard, as an example for making the case of discontinuation of longitudinal bulkheads which provide forward and aft separation between the outer coal bunkers and the inner compartments on ships. Though not entirely watertight, these longitudinal bulkheads trapped water between them. When the spaces flooded, this quickly forced a ship to list, pushing the portholes underwater. As flooding continued entering accommodation spaces, this only exacerbated the listing of the ship and dragging of the main deck down into the water. This would lead to the flooding of the upper compartments and finally the capsize and sinking of the ship. Reid and Hovgaard both cited the ''Empress of Ireland'' disaster as evidence which supported their conclusions that longitudinal subdivisions were very hazardous in ship collisions.<ref>Hovgaard, William. (1919). "Buoyancy and Stability of Troop Transports." [https://archive.org/details/transactionssoci2719soci ''Transactions'', Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers 27]. Pp. 137–61. ''Empress of Ireland'' is discussed in pp. 147–56, ''passim.''</ref><ref>*Reid, John. (1914). Comments following William Gatewood, "Stability of Vessels as Affected by Damage Due to Collision," [https://archive.org/details/transactionssoci2214soci ''Transactions'', Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers 22]: 67–74. ''Empress of Ireland'' is discussed in pp. 71–73, ''passim.''</ref>

The foundering throes of ''Empress of Ireland'' are used in Chapter 2, and the wreck site features in Part IV of the [[Dirk Pitt]] adventure, ''[[Night Probe!]]'' by [[Clive Cussler]].

==Wreck site==
===Salvage operation===
Shortly after the disaster, a salvage operation began on ''Empress of Ireland'' to recover the purser's safe and the mail. This was deemed a plausible effort due to the wreck's relatively shallow depth at {{convert|130|ft|m}}, shallow enough so that in the aftermath of the sinking, the mainmast and funnels of the ''Empress'' were still visible just beneath the surface.

As they recovered bodies and valuables from the ship, the salvors were faced with limited visibility and strong currents from the Saint Lawrence River. One of the [[Standard diving dress|hard-hat divers]], Edward Cossaboom, was killed when, it is assumed, he slipped from the hull of the wreck plummeting another {{cvt|65|ft|order=flip|abbr=on}} to the [[riverbed]] below, closing or rupturing his air hose as he fell. He was found lying unconscious on his lifeline and all attempts to revive him after he was brought to the surface failed.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/06/22/100676233.pdf |title=Empress Diver Lost |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 June 1914}}</ref> It was later reported, implausibly, that the sudden increase in water pressure had so compressed the diver's body that all that remained was a "[[jellyfish]] with a copper mantle and dangling canvas tentacles."<ref>McMurray, KF (2004) ''Dark Descent. Diving and the Deadly Allure of the Empress of Ireland''. International Marine / McGraw-Hill{{page needed|date=January 2021}}</ref> The salvage crew resumed their operations and recovered 318&nbsp;bags of mail and 251&nbsp;bars of silver (silver bullion) worth about $150,000 ($1,099,000 in 2013 when adjusted for inflation).

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 telemotor, pieces of Marconi wireless equipment, a brass porthole and a compass. [[Robert Ballard]], the [[oceanographer]] and maritime archaeologist who discovered the [[Wreck of the RMS Titanic|wrecks of ''Titanic'']] and the [[German battleship Bismarck|German battleship ''Bismarck'']], visited the wreck of ''Empress of Ireland'' and found that she was being covered by [[silt]]. He also discovered that certain artefacts from fixtures to human remains continued to be taken out by "treasure hunters".<ref>Ballard, RD, Archbold, R and Marschall, K (1998) ''Ghost Liners: Exploring the World's Greatest Lost Ships'' Little, Brown and Company{{page needed|date=January 2021}}</ref>
[[File:The wreck of RMS EMPRESS OF IRELAND Historic Site Canada.jpg|thumb|123x123px|Commemorative plaque in Pointe-au-Père]]

===Protecting the site===
In the province of Quebec, shipwrecks are not afforded explicit protection.<ref>[http://museum.gov.ns.ca/arch/wrecklaw.htm#Quebec A Summary of Legislation Effecting Underwater Cultural Heritage. Quebec] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080922160906/http://museum.gov.ns.ca/arch/wrecklaw.htm |date=22 September 2008}} Nova Scotia Museum.</ref> However, in 1999 the wreck was declared a site of historical and archaeological importance and thus became protected under the [[Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec|Cultural Property Act]] and was listed in the register of [[List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Quebec|Historic Sites of Canada]].<ref name="protect" /><ref>[http://www.mcccf.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=1938 Communiqués – Bas-Saint-Laurent, 1999-04-21. L'épave de l'Empress of Ireland est classée bien historique et archéologique.] Gouvernement du Québec.</ref> This was the first time that an underwater site had received this status in Quebec.

This protection was important because, unlike ''Titanic'', ''Empress of Ireland'' rests at the relatively shallow depth of {{cvt|40|m|abbr=on}}. While accessible to skilled [[Recreational diving|recreational divers]], the site is dangerous due to the cold water, strong currents and restricted visibility.<ref name="cbcnews">{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sXlAVq8sbo  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/8sXlAVq8sbo| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Empress of Ireland Expedition |date=26 January 2008 |publisher=[[CBC News]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> As of 2009 six people had lost their lives on the dive.<ref name=Respect/>

==Memorials==
[[File:2009 Mémorial de l'Empress of Ireland.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial monument at [[Pointe-au-Père, Quebec]]]] 
A number of monuments were erected, particularly by the CPR, to mark the burial places of those passengers and crew whose bodies were recovered in the days that followed the tragic sinking. For example, there are two monuments at Rimouski. One monument is located on the coastal road between Rimouski and Pointe-au-Père and is dedicated to the memory of eighty-eight persons; it is inscribed with twenty names, but the sixty-eight other persons are unidentified. A second monument is located at the cemetery in Rimouski (''Les Jardins commémoratifs Saint-Germain'') and is dedicated to the memory of a further seven persons, four of whom are named.

The CPR also erected several monuments in Quebec, e.g., [[Mount Hermon Cemetery]] and St. Patrick's Cemetery, both of which are located on the [[Sillery Heritage Site]], at the formerly independent city of [[Sillery, Quebec City|Sillery]].

The Salvation Army erected its own monument at the [[Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto|Mount Pleasant Cemetery]] in [[Toronto]]. The inscription reads, "In Sacred Memory of 167 Officers and Soldiers of the Salvation Army Promoted to Glory From the Empress of Ireland at Daybreak, Friday May 29, 1914". A memorial service is held there every year on the anniversary of the accident.<ref>[http://www.salvationarmy.ca/2008/05/27/94th-anniversary-of-the-empress-of-ireland-tragedy/ ''94th Anniversary of the Empress of Ireland Tragedy''.] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081205084422/http://www.salvationarmy.ca/2008/05/27/94th-anniversary-of-the-empress-of-ireland-tragedy/ |date=5 December 2008}} The Salvation Army in Canada.</ref>

==Commemorations==
The hundredth anniversary of the sinking of ''Empress of Ireland'' was commemorated in May 2014, by numerous events,<ref name="empress1">{{cite web |url= http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/home.html |title=Commémoration Empress of Ireland 2014 |work=empress2014.ca |access-date=2 November 2015}}</ref> including an exhibition at the [[Canadian Museum of History]] entitled ''Empress of Ireland: Canada's Titanic''<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.historymuseum.ca/empress |title=Canada's Titanic – The Empress of Ireland – Canadian Museum of History |work=historymuseum.ca |access-date=2 November 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151026055945/http://www.historymuseum.ca/empress |archive-date=26 October 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> which moved to the [[Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/empress-of-ireland-pier-21-1.3332251 |title=Empress of Ireland Ship Sinking Exhibit Opens at Pier 21 |publisher=CBC News |date=24 November 2015}}</ref>

[[Canada Post]] issued two stamps to commemorate the event.<ref name="News Releases">{{cite web |url= http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2014/2014_empress_of_ireland.jsf |title=News Releases |work=canadapost.ca |access-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150320082337/http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2014/2014_empress_of_ireland.jsf |archive-date=20 March 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Empress of Ireland domestic Permanent stamp was designed by Isabelle Toussaint, and is lithographed in seven colours. The Official First Day Cover was cancelled in Rimouski where survivors and victims were initially brought following the tragedy. The international denomination stamp was designed by Susan Scott<ref>[http://design514.com/ Susan Scott]</ref> using the oil on canvas illustration she commissioned from marine artist Aristides Balanos,<ref>[http://e-psychi.com Aristides Balanos]</ref> and printed using lithography in six colours.  The Official First Day Cover was cancelled at [[Pointe-au-Père, Quebec]], the town closest to the site of the sinking.<ref name="News Releases"/>

The [[Royal Canadian Mint]] has also issued a 2014 coin commemorating the disaster.<ref name="empress1"/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.historymuseum.ca/newsletter/archive/artifacts-and-eyewitness-accounts-tell-the-story-of-the-empress/?cm_mid=3439849&cm_crmid=31dd23d8-94d6-e211-a19c-005056a31317&cm_medium=email |title=Artifacts and eyewitness accounts tell the story of the Empress – Inside History: Canadian Museum of History |work=historymuseum.ca |access-date=2 November 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|Transport}}
*[[1914 in Canada]]
*[[Ship's cat#Emmy|Emmy]], ship's cat
*[[List of disasters in Canada]]
*[[List of Canadian disasters by death toll]]
*[[List of shipwrecks in 1914]]
*[[List of ocean liners]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite journal |url= https://archive.org/stream/n16sessionalpaper50canauoft#page/n417/mode/2up  |journal=Sessional Papers of the Parliament of the Dominion of Canada |volume=16: Fifth session of Twelfth Parliament; Vol.L |number=21b–1915 |title=Report and Evidence of the Commission of Enquiry into the Loss of the British Steamship "Empress of Ireland" of Liverpool (0. No. 123972) Through Collision With the Norwegian Steamship "Storstad." Quebec, June, 1914 |location=Ottawa |year=1914 |publisher=J. de L. Tache |access-date=5 December 2015}}
** Report reprinted in the UK as [[command paper]] [https://archive.org/stream/op1256477-1001#page/n0/mode/2up Cd. 7609] (HMSO 1914)

==Further reading==
*Autio, K. [http://www.sononis.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=97&category_id=14&keyword=second+watch&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=186 ''Second Watch''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602185023/http://www.sononis.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=97&category_id=14&keyword=second+watch&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=186 |date=2 June 2015 }}. Sono Nis Press {{ISBN|1550391518}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nf0nl ''The Golden Age of Liners'']. BBC Four. Timeshift, Series 9, Episode 2.
*[[Joseph conrad|Conrad, J.]] (1919) ''The Lesson of the Collision. A monograph upon the loss of the "Empress of Ireland."'' London: Richard Clay and Sons, Ltd.
*Croall, J. (1980) ''Fourteen minutes: The last voyage of the Empress of Ireland''. Sphere, London. {{ISBN|0-7221-2548-8}} / 0-7221-2548-8; {{ISBN|978-0-7221-2548-9}}
*Filey, M. (2000) ''Toronto Sketches 6 "The Way We Were"''. Dundurn Press. ([https://books.google.com/books?id=UWDsEMZZ-bgC Google eBook])
*Flayhart, William H. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=AGLeVdGbA5wC&q=Empress+of+Ireland ''Disaster at Sea: Shipwrecks, Storms, and Collisions on the Atlantic.''] New York: [[W. W. Norton & Company]]. {{ISBN|0-393-32651-9}}
*Grout, D. (2001) ''Empress of Ireland: An Edwardian Liner''. Gloucestershire: Tempus Press.
*Grout, D. (2014) ''RMS Empress of Ireland. Pride of the Canadian Pacific's Atlantic Fleet''. Gloucestershire: The History Press.
*Logan, Marshall. (1914) [https://books.google.com/books?id=XrPuHIo7vlYC&q=Empress+of+Ireland ''The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland: an Authentic Account of the Most Horrible Disaster in Canadian History, Constructed From the Real Facts Obtained From Those on Board Who Survived and Other Great Sea Disasters.''] Philadelphia: John C. Winston.  [OCLC 2576287]
*Marshall, Logan. (1972).  ''The Tragic Story of the EMPRESS of IRELAND.''  London.  Patrick Stephens.  {{ISBN|0-911962-03-4}}.
*McMurray, K.F. (2004) ''Dark Descent. Diving and the Deadly Allure of the Empress of Ireland''.  International Marine / McGraw-Hill.
*Renaud, A. ''Into The Mist: The Story Of The Empress Of Ireland''. Dundurn Press {{ISBN|978-1-55488-759-0}}
*Roy, K. (1993) ''Le drame de l'Empress of Ireland : Pointe-au-Père, 29 mai 1914''. Vanier :  Les Editions du Plongeur.
*Saward, J (2010) "''The Man who Caught Crippen''". Morienval Press. {{ISBN|978-0-9554868-1-4}}
*Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père (2007) ''Les trésors de l'Empress of Ireland''. Rimouski, Québec : Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père. {{ISBN|978-2980452727}}.
*Willis, John (2014) ''Empress of Ireland:Canada's Titanic'', Gatineau: Canadian Museum of History {{ISSN|2291-6385}}
*Wood, H.P. (1982) ''Till We Meet Again: The Sinking of the Empress of Ireland''. Toronto : Image Pub. {{ISBN|9780919357143}}.
*Zeni, D. (1998) ''Forgotten Empress. The Empress of Ireland Story.'' Halsgrove; 1st Canadian edition

==External links==
{{Commons category|RMS Empress of Ireland}}
*''{{LOCFC|empressofireland/}}''
*[https://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/home.html ''Empress of Ireland'' Commemorations] from the [[Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père]]
*[https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?30437 The ''Empress Of Ireland'' wrecked]
*[https://www.collectionscanada.ca/sos/shipwrecks/ Tales of Tragedy and Triumph: Canadian Shipwrecks], a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada
*[https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/empress-of-ireland-disaster Merseyside Maritime Museum: The Empress of Ireland disaster]
*[https://images.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/2020-05/crew-list.pdf Crew List]
*[https://images.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/2020-05/First-class-passengers-Empress-of-Ireland.pdf First Class Passenger List]
*[https://images.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/2020-05/Second-class-passengers-Empress-of-Ireland.pdf Second Class Passenger List]
*[https://images.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/2020-05/Third-class-passengers-Empress-of-Ireland.pdf Third Class Passenger List]
*[https://zoom-out.ca/view/dans-lil-du-collectionneur-n-4 Film of the arrival of the Lady Grey in Quebec City with the victims of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland (Pathé, 1914)]

{{1906 CP Empress}}
{{January–July 1914 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
{{Coord|48|37.5|N|68|24.5|W|scale:350000|name=Wreck location of the RMS Empress of Ireland|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empress Of Ireland (1906)}}
[[Category:1906 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Ships of CP Ships]]
[[Category:Ocean liners of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Saint Lawrence River]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]
[[Category:National Historic Sites in Quebec]]
[[Category:Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père]]
[[Category:Heritage sites in Quebec]]