RMS Empress of Ireland
Ocean Liner · United Kingdom · Lost 1914 · The Gulf of St Lawrence
Canada's worst maritime disaster: an ocean liner sunk in a foggy collision on the St. Lawrence with the loss of over a thousand lives.
Charles Lyons
See Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
The Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Ireland was outbound from Quebec City for Liverpool on the night of May 28-29, 1914, when she collided in fog with the Norwegian collier Storstad. She sank in about 14 minutes, killing 1,012 of the 1,477 aboard, more than were lost on the Titanic two years earlier. The wreck lies off Pointe-au-Père and was designated a National Historic Site in 2009. It remains a protected grave site and a demanding technical dive.
Vessel
- 1906
- Official No. 123972
- Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
- Govan, Glasgow, Scotland
- Steel
- 570 ft
- 65.7 ft
- 14191
- Steam, twin screw
- Canadian Pacific Railway (Canadian Pacific Steamship Lines)
Loss
- May 29, 1914
- Collision
- St. Lawrence River off Pointe-au-Père (Father Point), near Rimouski, Quebec
- St. Lawrence River
- Quebec City, Quebec → Liverpool, England
- Not established
- 1477
- 1012
- Henry George Kendall
The Wreck Today
- 130 ft
- Largely intact, lying on her starboard side at roughly a 65-degree angle
- Starboard side down
- 1914
- Wreck of RMS Empress of Ireland National Historic Site of Canada; protected under Quebec's Cultural Heritage Act
Position
- 48.625° N 68.408° W
- Surveyed position
- Pointe-au-Père, Quebec
Position as published by the Naval Marine Archive and consistent with Parks Canada's National Historic Site description.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (95/100)
Designation, loss date, casualty figures, wreck depth and orientation.
Dimensions, tonnage, casualty and survivor figures, wreck position.
