Empress of India departing Vancouver. | |
History | |
---|---|
Name |
|
Owner |
|
Port of registry |
|
Builder | Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow-in-Furness |
Laid down | 1890 |
Launched | 30 August 1890 by Lady Louisa Egerton |
Maiden voyage | 8 February 1891 |
Fate | Scrapped in 1923 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ocean liner |
Tonnage | 5,905 tons |
Length | 455.7 ft |
Beam | 51.2 ft |
Propulsion | Twin propellers |
Speed | 16 knots |
Capacity | As originally configured: 120 first class, 50 second class and 600 steerage |
RMS Empress of India was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 [1] by Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow-in-Furness, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships. [2] This ship would be the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of India, [3] and on 28 April 1891, she was the first of many ships named Empress arriving at Vancouver harbor. [4]
Empress of India regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until she was sold to the Maharajah of Gwalior in 1914 and renamed in 1915. [5]
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. [6]
Empress of India and her two running mates—RMS Empress of China 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. [5]
Empress of India was built by Naval Construction & Armaments Co. (now absorbed into Vickers Armstrongs) at Barrow, England. The keel was laid in 1890. [5] She was launched on 30 August 1890 by Lady Louisa Egerton, wife of Admiral Hon. Francis Egerton and sister of Lord Hartington, chairman of the shipbuilders. [7]
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-colored funnels with a band of black paint at the top, three lightweight schooner-type masts, and an average speed of 16-knots. Empress of India and her running mate Empresses were the first vessels in the Pacific to have twin propellers with reciprocating engines. [8] The ship was designed to provide accommodation for 770 passengers (120 first class, 50 second class and 600 steerage). [6]
Empress of India left Liverpool on 8 February 1891 on her maiden voyage via Suez to Hong Kong and Vancouver. Thereafter, she regularly sailed back and forth along the Hong Kong - Shanghai - Nagasaki - Kobe - Yokohama - Vancouver route. [5] In the early days of wireless telegraphy, the call sign established for Empress of India was "MPI." [9]
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 Kobe showed signs of smallpox, and the vessel was held in Yokohama port until the incubation period for the disease had passed. [10] 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. [11]
On 17 August 1903, Empress of India collided with and sank the Chinese cruiser Huang Tai. [5]
The vessel was reported sold on 19 December 1914, to Scindia of Gwalior (also known as the Maharajah of Gwalior). [12] The former Empress was re-fitted as a hospital ship for Indian troops. On 19 January 1915, the ship was renamed Loyalty. In March 1919, she was sold to The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. Company in Bombay (now Mumbai). In February 1923, the ship was sold for scrapping at Bombay. [5]
CP Empresses of India
In 1921, Canadian Pacific added two German-built vessels to Empress fleet; and initially, both were confusingly renamed Empress of China. Within months, one of these ships will be renamed Empress of India and the other will be renamed the Empress of Australia. A quick explanation will help distinguish these quite different ships which each sailed with the same name.
This vessel from Barrow is the first of two CP ships named Empress of India.
RMS Empress of Russia was a steam turbine ocean liner built in 1912–13 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific steamships (CP). She regularly worked the trans-Pacific route between Canada and the Far East.
Royal Mail Ship, usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel designated as "RMS" has the right both to fly the pennant of the Royal Mail when sailing and to include the Royal Mail "crown" insignia with any identifying device and/or design for the ship.
CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships from Europe to Canada. In 1914 the sinking of the Canadian Pacific steamship RMS Empress of Ireland just before World War I became largest maritime disaster in Canadian history. The company provided Canadian Merchant Navy vessels in World Wars I and II. Twelve vessels were lost due to enemy action in World War II, including the RMS Empress of Britain, which was the largest ship ever sunk by a German U-boat.
RMS Empress of Britain was a transatlantic ocean liner built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland in 1905–1906 for Canadian Pacific Steamship (CP). This ship – the first of three CP ships to be named Empress of Britain – regularly traversed the transatlantic crossing between Canada and Europe until 1923, with the exception of the war years. Empress of Britain was the sister ship of RMS Empress of Ireland, which was lost in 1914.
RMS Empress of Britain was a transatlantic ocean liner built by Fairfield Shipbuilding at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland in 1955-1956 for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship — the third of three CP vessels to be named Empress of Britain — regularly traversed the trans-Atlantic route between Canada and Europe until 1964, completing 123 voyages under the Canadian Pacific flag.
RMS Empress of Japan, also known as the "Queen of the Pacific", was an ocean liner built in 1890–1891 by Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow-in-Furness, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship – the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Japan – regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until 1922. During the First World War she served as armed merchant cruiser, becoming HMS Empress of Japan for the period that she was a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy.
Queen of the Pacific is a name or nickname of ships and places associated with the Pacific Ocean, the largest of Earth's oceans.
RMS Empress of Japan was an ocean liner built in 1929–1930 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship was the second of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Japan – regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until 1942.
RMS Empress of Australia was an ocean liner built in 1913–1919 by Vulcan AG shipyard in Stettin, Germany for the Hamburg America Line. She was refitted for Canadian Pacific Steamships; and the ship – the third of three CP vessels to be named Empress of China – was renamed yet again in 1922 as Empress of Australia.
RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner built in 1920 for the Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP) by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland. This ship—the first of three CP vessels to be named Empress of Canada—regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Asian waters until 1939.
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.
RMS Empress of Scotland, originally SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, was an ocean liner built in 1905–1906 by Vulcan AG shipyard in Stettin for the Hamburg America Line. The ship regularly sailed between Hamburg and New York City until the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. At the end of hostilities, re-flagged as USS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, she transported American troops from Europe to the United States. For a brief time Cunard sailed the re-flagged ship between Liverpool and New York.
RMS or SS Empress of China may refer to one of these Canadian Pacific Steamship Company ocean liners:
SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm was an ocean liner for North German Lloyd (NDL) from her launch in 1907 until the end of World War I. After the war, she briefly served as USS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm (ID-4063) for the United States Navy returning American troops from France. The vessel was first chartered—and later purchased outright—by Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP) and operated under the names Empress of China, Empress of India, Montlaurier, Monteith, and Montnairn. She was scrapped in 1929.
RMS or SS Empress of India may refer to one of these Canadian Pacific Steamship Company ocean liners:
RMS Empress of France, formerly SS Alsatian was an ocean liner built in 1913-1914 by William Beardmore and Company at Glasgow in Scotland for Allan Line. In total, the ship's service history encompasses 99 trans-Atlantic voyages, 5 trans-Pacific voyages, and 8 other cruises in addition to her war service.
RMS Carinthia was an ocean liner built in 1956 as one of the four Saxonia class ships. She sailed for Cunard Line from her completion until 1968 when she was sold to Sitmar Line, rebuilt into a full-time cruise ship and renamed SS Fairsea. She sailed with Sitmar until 1988, when Sitmar was sold to P&O. She was renamed SS Fair Princess and sailed for Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises until 2000. She was then sold to China Sea Cruises and renamed SS China Sea Discovery. In 2005 or 2006 she was scrapped in Alang, India.
The Scindia Steam Navigation Company, founded in 1919, is the second oldest shipping company of India. The first being the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company of VOC Pillai in today's Tamilnadu that was founded in 1906.
RMS Empress of England was an ocean liner built in 1956-1957 by Vickers-Armstrongs, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom for the Canadian Pacific Steamships. The ship was launched in 1956; and she undertook her maiden voyage in 1957 and was a near identical sister ship to Empress of Britain.