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Simplon - The Passenger Ship Website -
www.simplonpc.co.uk
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Empress of China Canadian Pacific |
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This page is one of a series devoted to postcards and
photographs of the ocean liners of Canadian Pacific (CP). This
page shows images of the 1891 liner Empress of China which was
wrecked off Japan in 1911, with no loss of life. The main reason for
creating this page is the availability of a superb sequence of images of the
wreck taken by Claude Ernest Daniel, who was commissioned in the 1890s as a
Lieutenant in the RNR and later, served as an officer on a number of the CP
Empresses. He was First Officer on Empress of China at the
time of her grounding. Claude lived with his wife in Japan and China off and
on during the early 1900s and died in1913, not very long after the wreck.
The scans and information have been supplied by his grandson and
granddaughter, Claude Dennis and Linda Narkiewicz.
In 1891, Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the British Government reached agreement on a contract for a subsidized mail service between Britain and Hong Kong via Canada; using CPR ships to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and CPR trains to cross Canada. For the trans-Pacific section of route three new ocean liners were built. These three yacht-like vessels became the first Empresses in the CPR fleet and were named Empress of India, Empress of China and ,RMS Empress of Japan. They replaced a fleet of smaller and slower vessels which had run without subsidy. The Empress of China was built by Naval Construction & Armament Co. (later absorbed into Vickers Armstrong) at Barrow, England. The keel was laid in 1890; and she was launched on 25 March 1891. The 5,905-ton vessel had a length of 455.6 feet, and her beam was 51.2 feet. The graceful white-painted, clipper-bowed ship had two buff-coloured funnels with a band of black paint at the top, three lightweight schooner-type masts, and an average speed of 16-knots. This Empress and her two sister-ship Empresses were the first vessels in the Pacific to have twin propellers with reciprocating engines. The ship was designed to provide accommodation for 770 passengers (120 first class, 50 second class and 600 steerage). The Empress of China left Liverpool on 15 July 1891 on her maiden voyage via Suez to Hong Kong and Vancouver. Thereafter, she regularly sailed the route between Canada and the east coast of Asia. On 27 July 1911 the Empress encountered rough seas and thick fog 65 mile south of Tokyo harbour. She struck a submerged rock off the Nojima Saki Light while trying to round the southern tip of the Awa peninsula inbound for Yokohama. Submerged rocks extend about a mile from the coast in an area of the bay which is known for its dangerous currents. This accident occurred very close to where another ship foundered on the rocks in 1907. The Japanese cruisers Aso and Soya were dispatched to assist in removing mail, baggage, and passengers. The ship was abandoned with no loss of life. A year later, the Empress was re-floated; and in October 1912, she was towed into Yokohama where she was dismantled and scrapped. Plans were already under way for her replacement by larger tonnage when she was lost. These ships were the Empress of Asia and Empress of Russia. |
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