FOG: THE SEAMAN'S NIGHTMARE
The Story of Two Tragic Shipwrecks

China from the Empress of Ireland

It was shortly after 1 o'clock in the morning of May 29, 1914. The Canadian Pacific Railway steamship, Empress of Ireland, was just twelve hours out of Quebec proceeding toward the mouth of the St. Lawrence. Little did those asleep on the ocean liner realize that she was about to collide with another ship, roll over, and in 14 minutes settle to the bottom of the St. Lawrence River. She carried with her all but 217 of her 1,057 passengers, making this the worst loss of passenger life in this century, exceeding both the Titanic and the Lusitania. The Empress with eleven water tight compartments and more than adequate 40 lifeboats was considered one of the safest ships afloat.

On the bridge that night, was young (39) and handsome Captain Henry Kendall, who had been in command of the Empress for less than a year. The ship's lookout sighted the lights of an approaching vessel about six miles up river. The Norwegian collier, Storstad, under command of First Mate Alfred Toftenes was carrying 11,000 tons of coal to Quebec. No sooner had they sighted one another than the river was suddenly engulfed in a blanket of fog. Captain Kendall continued cautiously, then stopped engines, reversed them, hoping to put greater distance between the ships. The Storstad proceeded on course, assuming the continued forward movement of the Empress. Suddenly, out of the fog, Toftenes saw directly ahead the starboard side of the Empress. Kendall frantically ordered "full speed ahead," as the bow of the Storstad plowed into the side of the Empress of Ireland, nearly cutting her in two. Captain Kendall realized his ship was doomed, and immediately proceeded with an orderly attempt to evacuate his passengers.

Among the voyagers on the Empress were near 200 members of the Canadian Salvation Army on their journey to Albert Hall in London for their international congress. They, like most on board, were asleep following an eventful first day on ship. Following the collision, few passengers were able to find their way up on deck and to rescue. This was due to the cavernous opening cut in the ship allowing water to rush through the compartments and the failure of the electrical system leaving the ship in total darkness. Today a red marker in the St. Lawrence identifies the site where this tragedy occurred on that night long ago.

The Storstad, though damaged, continued to Quebec and was seized by the court, and later sold for $175,000.

In more recent times, on the evening of July 25, 1956, nearing the conclusion of a four thousand mile uneventful cruise, passengers aboard the luxurious ocean liner, Andrea Doria, were preparing their luggage for a morning disembarkment in New York. The seas were running calm, but fog shrouded the shipping lanes 60 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and provided the conditions, together with errors in navigational judgment, that would produce the ensuing disaster.

Gazing through the thick fog, the captain of the oncoming Stockholm suddenly recognized the Andrea Doria directly ahead. Too late to avoid a collision, the Stockholm rammed the liner on her starboard side. The Stockholm pierced a 30 foot hole into the DORIA's hull.

A night of confusion followed. 1,650 passengers were forced to abandon the ship. The air-sea rescue which followed proved to be the largest in maritime history. Crippled and doomed she sank eleven hours later. Sadly, fifty-two people were lost.

Today, these historic wrecks, the Empress of Ireland lies in 150 foot of water near Rimouski, Canada and the Andrea Doria at the almost unattainable depth of 250 feet off Nantucket. Extremely hazardous diving conditions hamper the recovery of valuable artifacts from the Andrea Doria. Four divers have lost their lives in recent years during attempts to retrieve pieces of her china.

On exhibit at the museum are 9 pieces of china recovered from the wreck of the Empress and 18 from the Andrea Doria. This collection was recovered by master diver, Edward E. Suarez, Jr. (now deceased) of Columbia Maryland.