RMS Empress of Ireland

Delve into the tragic history of the ship whose sinking was as disastrous as the Titanic’s.

When we think of a major marine disaster, the Titanic usually springs to mind. Yet a mere two years after the Titanic, a tragedy of similar proportions took place in the confines of the St. Lawrence River. On a dark night in May 1914 the Norwegian collier Storstad rammed the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Ireland. In less than fifteen minutes, more than 1,000 people died, trapped in the ship’s hull or drowned as they were trying to escape. They died within sight of land.

Despite the scale of the disaster and the fact that the ship had an excellent safety record with eight years in service, the Empress tragedy has been sadly overlooked. Now this lavishly illustrated luxury edition seeks to remedy this oversight, on the centenary of the tragic event.