RMS Empress of China (1890)

RMS ''Empress of China'' was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship—the first of three CP vessels to be named ''Empress of China''—regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until she struck an underwater reef and sank in Tokyo harbour in 1911.Ship List
Description of ''Empress of China''

Royal Mail Ship

In 1891, Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the British government reached agreement on a contract for subsidized mail service between Britain and Hong Kong via Canada; and the route began to be serviced by three specially designed ocean liners. Each of these three vessels was given an Imperial name.Miller, William H. (1984). ''The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs,'' p. 52.

''Empress of China'' and her two running mates, RMS ''Empress of India'' and RMS ''Empress of Japan'', created a flexible foundation for the CPR trans-Pacific fleet which would ply this route for the next half century.

History

''Empress of China'' was built by Naval Construction & Armament Co. (now absorbed into Vickers Armstrongs) 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).

''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. In the early days of wireless telegraphy, the call sign established for ''Empress of China'' was "MPG."

Much of what would have been construed as ordinary, even unremarkable during this period was an inextricable part of the ship's history. In the conventional course of trans-Pacific traffic, the ship was sometimes held in quarantine, as when it was discovered that a passenger from Hong Kong to Yokohama showed signs of smallpox, and the vessel was held in Yokohama port until the incubation period for the disease had passed. The cargo holds of the ''Empress'' would have been routinely examined in the normal course of harbor-master's business in Hong Kong, Yokohama or Vancouver.

Amongst the celebrities sailing on ''Empress of China'' was Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. On 25 August 1893, the Archduke boarded the ocean liner at Yokohama for a voyage across the Pacific to Vancouver. William Lyon Mackenzie King, who eventually became the longest serving Prime Minister in Canadian History, "saw over" the ship on Friday, 22 November 1901 as part of his visit to Vancouver as deputy minister of the newly formed Department of Labour.

On 27 July 1911 ''Empress of China'' encountered rough seas and thick fog 65 miles south of Tokyo Bay. She struck a submerged rock off the Nojimazaki Lighthouse while trying to round the southern tip of the Bōsō 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 and 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.

CP ''Empresses of China''

In 1921, Canadian Pacific added two German-built vessels to the ''Empress'' fleet; and initially, both were confusingly renamed ''Empress of China.''

* The first ''Empress of China'' was a 5,905-ton vessel launched in 1891 from Barrow, England. She was wrecked on a reef at Tokyo Bay in 1911, and subsequently scrapped in 1912.White Empress fleet
20 ships, descriptions
/ref>
* The second RMS Empress of India (1908), SS ''Empress of China'' was a 16,992-ton vessel launched in 1907 from Gestemunde, Germany as the SS ''Prince Freidrich Wilhelm'' for the Norddeutscher Lloyd, Norddeutscher Lloyd Line (NDL). The ship was purchased in 1921 by Canadian Pacific and then immediately, the ship was renamed ''Empress of China'' for a short time. Later in that same year, the ship was renamed yet again as the ''Empress of India.'' Subsequent names for this vessel were: the SS ''Montlaurier'' (1922); and SS ''Montnairn'' (1925). The ship was scrapped 1929.
* The third RMS Empress of Australia (1919), SS ''Empress of China'' was a 21,860-ton vessel launched in 1913 from Stettin, Germany, as the SS ''Tirpitz'' for Hamburg-America Line (HAPAG). The ship was purchased in 1921 by CP and renamed the ''Empress of China''. 40-year-old Ship Makes Last Trip; ''Empress of Australia'', Luxury Liner and Troop Carrier, on Way to Scrap Heap,"
''New York Times.'' 1 May 1952. Then next year, in 1922, the ship was renamed ''Empress of Australia'' after re-fitting at Clydebank. The ship was ultimately scrapped in 1952.

Notes

See also

* CP Ships
* List of ocean liners
* List of ships in British Columbia
* Samuel Robinson (sea captain), Samuel Robinson, chief officer (1899)

References

* Dept. of Agriculture, Canada. (1907)
''Report of the Minister of Agriculture for Canada.''
Ottawa: S.E. Dawson (King's Printer).
* Miller, William H. (1984). ''The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs.'' New York: Dover Publications.
* Parliament, Canada. (1892
''Sessional Papers.''
Ottawa: S.E. Dawson (King's Printer).
* Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986
''Transpacific Steam: The Story of Steam Navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867-1941.''
Cranbury, New Jersey : Cornwall Books/Associated University Presses. (cloth)
* Trevent, Edward. (1911
''The A B C of Wireless Telegraphy: A Plain Treatise on Hertzian Wave Signalling.''
Lynne, Massachusetts: Bubier Publishing.

External links

* The Ships List

* Simplon Postcards
Canadian Pacific postcard images

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empress Of China (1891)
1890 ships
Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness
Ships of CP Ships
Steamships of Canada
Ocean liners of Canada
Victorian-era merchant ships of Canada
Shipwrecks of Japan
Maritime incidents in 1911
July 1911 events