RMS Empress of Ireland

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on 29 May 1914 | Ship notes = }} ; | Ship length = oa; pp | Ship beam = | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship depth = | Ship decks = 4 steel decks | Ship power = 3,168 NHP | Ship propulsion = *2 × Quadruple-expansion steam engines *2 × Screw propellers | Ship speed = | Ship capacity = *1,542 passengers in 1906 *310 First Class *468 Second Class *494 Third Class *270 Steerage | Ship crew = 373 in 1906 | Ship notes = }}

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'''RMS ''Empress of Ireland''''' was a British-built ocean liner that sank near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada following a collision in thick fog with the Norwegian collier 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 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.

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering built ''Empress of Ireland'' and her sister ship, , at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland. The liners were commissioned by Canadian Pacific Steamships or CPR for the 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.

The wreck of ''Empress of Ireland'' lies in of water, making it accessible to advanced divers. 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. The Canadian government has passed legislation to protect the site. Provided by Wikipedia