RMS Empress of Ireland

The RMS Empress of Ireland was a Canadian ocean liner. It sank in the Saint Lawrence River after an accident with the Norwegian ship SS Storstad on 29 May 1914. Of the 1,477 people on the Empress, 1,012 died.

Colorized Picture of the Ship.

The ship was launched in 1906. It had just begun its 96th voyage when it sank.

The Empress of Ireland left Quebec City for Liverpool at 4:30 pm local time.

The wreck of the Empress of Ireland lies in 130 feet of water. This makes it easy to access for most divers. Many artifacts from the wreck have been retrieved.

RMS Empress Of Ireland Media

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  RMS Empress of Ireland

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  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" of less than four days.

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  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.

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  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.

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  Damage sustained by Storstad after its collision with Empress of Ireland.

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  Storstad in Montreal after the collision. Note the damage to the bow

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  The New York Times published this list of survivors and casualties two days after the disaster.

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  Unloading the coffins of the children from Lady Grey

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  Illustrative navigation lights of Storstad as were claimed to have been seen from Empress of Ireland.