Empress of Ireland - LostLiners.com

As Empress of Ireland lay on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, the mail tender Lady Evelyn and the tug Eureka, the vessel that had picked up the Empress' pilot just prior to the collision, rescue survivors along with Storstad, which despite massive damage to her bow, remained afloat. As dawn began to break over the horizon, all that had been saved were on their way back to Rimouski.

Sir Henry Seton-Karr lost his life when Empress of Ireland sank. He is said to have given his lifebelt to someone who did not have one. Such acts of heroism seemed to abound. I imagine being the adventurer that he was, Seton-Karr figured his one last adventure would be the transition to the hereafter. He died like a gentleman. Also lost were the Irvings. Said to be last seen kissing and holding eachother tight, no one is certain if they made a jump for it. All that is known that is they did not survive. Edward Hanagan and his wife Edith perished but their seven-year-old daughter Gracie survived the sinking. She was one of only four children saved.

The inquiry into the sinking of Empress of Ireland was convened on June 16th in King's Bench Courthouse in Quebec. The Honourable John Charles Bigham, Lord Mersey, was to preside over the inquest, as he had over the investigative hearings into the sinking of Titanic only two years earlier. For eleven days testimony was heard from witnesses, including Captain Kendall who answered 869 questions over the course of four separate appearances on the witness stand. Crew members from both ships testified but few passengers were called to the stand. Lord Mersey did not want to hear from them. He obviously considered their testimony to be unreliable as they were more than likely to have been so traumatized by the events so as to not accurately recall them as would a seaman hardened by years at sea. The inquiries adjourned on June 27th and Lord Mersey delivered his findings on July 11th. Captain Kendall, although criticized for stopping his vessel completely in fog, thus rendering her un-maneuverable, but it was also acknowledged that he stopped Empress of Ireland as a precautionary measure and his ability was not questioned. Blame was found to be in Chief Officer Toftenes. Ironically the Norwegian inquiry found the crew of Storstad free of blame and found that Kendall had violated protocol by not passing port to port.

While the British and Norwegian inquires all but exonerated their own vessels and crews, the task of recovering bodies, mail and cargo from Empress of Ireland was being planned. Salvage operations were prompted by an onslaught of claims being filed by passengers and victims' families for valuables aboard the vessel. CPR contracted a joint American and Canadian dive team led by William Wallace Wotherspoon. In late July the first dives were made to map out the wreck and get an idea of it's orientation. They found Empress of Ireland to be laying on her starboard side with a list of about 45 degrees with her bow facing northeast. At an average depth of 130 feet, the technology of the day was prohibitive to say the least. Canvas diving suits with large, heavy diving bell helmets limited mobility. The violently shifting currents of the St. Lawrence didn't help either. Visibility was 10 feet on a good day and the work was difficult. One of the first divers to visit the wreck was Edward Cossaboom from New York. He was on the wreck recovering bodies and sending them to the surface when a strong current caused him to stumble. As his lifeline to the surface had gone slack, he slipped off the Empress' bow and plunged 65 feet below to the riverbed. The 65 feet provided too great an increase in pressure too quickly and poor Cossaboom's heart, lungs and other internal organs to explode. On impact with the bottom, the water pressure was so great his flesh was literally stripped off his bones and the vast majority of his soft tissue was compressed into his copper diving helmet. Needless to say it was not a pretty sight. The grim task of recovering bodies continued, however, as well as the recovery of letters, packages, newspapers and such. In all 318 bags of mail were recovered. Also recovered were 212 bars of silver worth $1,099,000 and the purser's safe, which was hauled to the surface after a large hole was blown into the side of the ship to allow the huge safe to pass through.

As salvage operations were concluded, World War I erupted in Europe. In the shadow of haunting headlines about the horrors of the war 'Over There..." the tragic story of the Empress was forgotten. She slipped into the back pages of history for another 50 years, laying quietly on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River as boats passed overhead daily without so much as a passing acknowledgment. In July 1964, Empress of Ireland was relocated by a team of Canadian divers who recovered, among other things, the ship's large brass warning bell. Since then the ship has been visited yearly by sports and technical divers, some in search of treasure, others in search of history. In the summer months, when it is safe to dive, the water can still be below freezing down at the wreck, so it's a dive for professionals only.

Empress of Ireland presents one with a magical doorway into the past. This is a ship from the time of Titanic and Lusitania. She was an elegant lady full of charm and grace and in going down earned the immortality only afforded to the iron ladies taken from us by the sea. To live a full life as a luxury liner only doomed a vessel to an undignified end at the scrap yard, cut to pieces and sold off. The magnificent oak fittings that so lovingly adorned extravagant interiors is stripped. The liners lost to the sea take their glory with them and offer a glimpse into an era we will never see again. Most are only reachable with a submarine. There are a few, like Empress of Ireland, that are in shallow water and within reach of scuba divers. No matter what the depth, these wrecks are relics of past achievements as well as monuments to tragedy and must be treated with the utmost respect.

The loss of this lovely vessel reiterated the fact made evident by the sinking of Titanic. No ship is unsinkable. Even a safe ship, if damaged severely, will sink too quickly for even the most advanced emergency equipment or procedures to be deployed. It all simply happened too fast. The majority of those lost were still below decks; many bodies were not recovered. Sadly, some divers have removed these remains. This wreck, as almost any, is a grave and a shrine. It must be revered and respected and most of all undisturbed. If you do dive to Empress of Ireland, please remember this. I have always felt the recovery of artifacts from a wreck for the purpose of historic preservation and placement in a museum is justifiable in the fact that without the artifacts to display and teach, there is no story except that which we read. For history to truly come alive, we must be able to see with our own eyes those pieces of the past that speak to us in their own way.

The legacy Empress of Ireland leaves behind haunts anyone who learns her story. I have been to the wreck site, and although I did not dive, being over top of this ship moved me with a power beyond my comprehension. The serenity of the environment betrays the violent swiftness of this horrible disaster, and the energy left behind by this tragedy can still be felt there today. In her day, the tragic story of this vessel was lost in the shadow of the Great War. Yet 87 years later, there are still those who are captivated by her tale. Remember what you have learned here, what you have learned about Empress of Ireland and share it with others. The next time someone wants to talk about what a horrific tragedy Titanic was, remind them that another tragedy just as horrific in its nature occurred not long after the great White Star liner sank. Tell them of Empress of Ireland, the worst maritime tragedy in Canadian history and a story that must be told...and remembered...

Click on thumbnail to view full size