RMS Empress of Ireland

RMS Empress of Ireland was an ocean liner that sank near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River following a collision in thick fog with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad in the early hours of 29 May 1914. Although the ship was equipped with watertight compartments, and in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster two years earlier, carried more than enough lifeboats
for all onboard, she foundered in only 14 minutes. Of the 1,477 people
on board, 1,012 died, making it the worst peacetime marine disaster in
Canadian history.^[1][2][3][a]


Empress of Ireland and her sister ship, Empress of Britain, were built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland.^[1] The liners were commissioned by Canadian Pacific Steamships (at that time part of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) conglomerate) for the North Atlantic route between Liverpool and Quebec City.
(The transcontinental CPR and its fleet of ocean liners constituted
CPR's self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Transportation System".) Empress of Ireland had just begun her 96th voyage when she sank.^[4]


The wreck lies in 40 metres (130 ft) of water, making it accessible to advanced divers.^[5] 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. The Canadian government has passed legislation to protect the site.^[6]


Numerous books have been written about the sinking of Empress of Ireland and several films and documentaries have been made.