The Empress of Ireland

Very few shipwrecks can capture a place in your mind and your heart the way a shipwreck like the Empress of Ireland does.

What started off as curiousity and a quest to dive what some would feel is Canada's (if not North America's) Mount Everest of scuba diving has become a passionate diving relationship that has spanned over a decade with us now.

The Empress is like a beautiful and seductive woman. You want to see her, explore her and spend more and more time with her. Time on a trip is never enough, we are never fullfilled and she leaves us lusting for more.

The Empress of Ireland was one of the greatest Marine Disasters and was virtually unknown as it occured on the brink of the First World War. It had a higher death tole than the famed Titanic which sank 2 years earlier and received all the media coverage.

This lavish ship was made for the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. in 1906 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. of Glasgow and was one of the Largest Passenger Steamships operating at that time.

The Empress was a luxery passenger ship that offered 570 feet of elegance and first class luxeries. Teak decking, gold trimmed plates, first class dining, 1st class music room where a 5 peice stringed orchestra would perform and spacious sleeping quarters, the Empress was a beautiful ship.

On May 29th, 1914 the Empress left Quebec with 1477 people aboard and travelled down the St. Lawrence Seaway where it was caught in a heavy fog. While approaching the mouth of the river in the evening a spotter on lookout spotted a ship rapidly approaching the Empress on the starboard side........The Storstad, a 6000 ton Norwegian coal ship.

The Storstad had taken action to pass the Empress port to port but instead ran the ship directly accross the path of the Empress and Collided with the Empress on the starboard side bow area leaving a hole 14' wide. The Engine Room flooded within minutes with the brackish seawater which shorted out the ships engines, water tight doors and the electricity. The Empress was only able to get one S.O.S message out before they lost power.

The Empress sank in 14 minutes as it listed to the starboard side which was taking in water from the blow, as well as the large number of port holes that were open on this surprisingly stuffy day. The Empress crashed onto it's starboard side throwing hundreads of clinging passengers to their death below the icy waters of the St. Lawrence.

The Empress only managed to deploy 5 of 40 of it's lifeboards and rescue attempts were futile, as 1012 people perished in this grewsome tragedy.

Today the Empress sits in it's permanent home in the St. Lawrence 2 miles off shore of the small town of St. Luce, Quebec in a depth ranging from 80fsw-140fsw.

Though a relatively shallow dive, the Empress is one of the most challenging dives in the world due to it's unpredictible and ever changing currents which range from none existant to fast and furious. Low visibility, darkness, frigid cold water and navigational hazzards both inside and outside of the wreck are just some of the modifiers a diver has to deal with. The Empress is a more challenging dive than the famed Andrea Doria which lays 100fsw deeper in warmer, clearer water and doesn't always resemble a ship in certain parts due to the corrosion of the metal, silt and vegitation.

The Empress has claimed the lives of many divers who have not had the experience, skill or training to safely dive this site. Many divers have barely survived accidents on the wreck (getting lost inside, blown off from the current, panic attacks, decompression injuries, air embolisms and much more). The Empress is not for the new or beginner diver, but rather, for the most experienced wreck and technical diver.

We offer an annual Empress Dive Expedition for experienced divers to be guided around this this historic shipwreck by Matt Mandziuk for a diving experience they will never forget.

Divers have come to us from BC, Alberta, Thunderbay and from all over Ontario to join in on this great trip.

To the left, you can view an illustration that will show you an artists rendition of how the Empress looks today. To properly gain a feel the visibility you may wish to place your hand over the wreck and move it to the left unveiling the wreck one bit at a time.

The Empress offers some of the most challenging and rewarding wreck pentrations (not to be attempted without proper training, experience and equipment). The ships name is still visible on the bow and even for the diver who just wishes to swim around the wreck or touch it it will remain in your heart forever.

Join us on our Annual Empress of Ireland Expedition 2010 dates now being booked for August 2011, email the store for further details email us.

Divers must possess proper equipment, experience and certifications in wreck and technical diving, divers will be required to make a pre-qualification dive under Matt Mandziuk's Direct Supervision prior to this trip.

Our 2011 Technical Diving Training Schedule is currently under production please check out our Technical Courses page for course particulars.