Global InformationSS Emperor information
48°12′2″N 88°29′30″W / 48.20056°N 88.49167°W
 Emperor downbound in the St. Clair River on May 5, 1939
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| Name | Emperor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator |
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| Port of registry | Midland, Ontario | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Builder | Collingwood Shipbuilding Company, Collingwood, Ontario | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yard number | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launched | December 17, 1910 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Completed | April 1911 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maiden voyage | May 3, 1911 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Out of service | June 4, 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Identification | Canadian official number 126654 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Pride of Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fate | Sank on Lake Superior | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General characteristics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class and type | Lake freighter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tonnage |
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| Length |
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| Beam | 56.1 feet (17.1 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draught | 27 feet (8.2 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depth | 31 feet (9.4 m) (moulded) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 1 × fixed pitch propeller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (nominal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 10,000 long tons (10,160 t) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SS Emperor was a steel-hulled Canadian lake freighter in service between 1911 and 1947. She was built between 1910 and April 1911 by the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company in Collingwood, Ontario, for Inland Lines, Ltd., of Midland, Ontario. She entered service on May 3, 1911. Emperor was sold to Canada Steamship Lines of Montreal, Quebec. Under the ownership of Canada Steamship Lines, she carried a wide variety of cargoes, but most frequently iron ore to Point Edward, Ontario, where it would be transported to Hamilton, Ontario, by train. After the opening of the fourth Welland Canal, Emperor carried the ore directly to Hamilton. She was involved in several accidents throughout her career.
After discharging a cargo of coal in Fort William, Ontario, on June 3, 1947, Emperor headed to Port Arthur, Ontario, where she loaded 10,264 long tons (11,496 short tons; 10,429 t) of iron ore bound for Ashtabula, Ohio. She left Port Arthur at 10:55 p.m. (EST). The weather was clear, and visibility was good. At midnight, Captain Eldon Walkinshaw handed over watch duties to first mate James A. Morrey. Emperor ran hard aground on Canoe Rocks, on the northeast point of Isle Royale shortly before 4:15 a.m. on June 4. She sank in between 20 and 35 minutes. 12 of her crew were killed, while the 21 survivors were picked up by the United States Coast Guard Cutter Kimball.
Emperor's wreck is the most recent, and second largest shipwreck of Isle Royale, surpassed only by the freighter Chester A. Congdon, which also wrecked on Canoe Rocks. The wreck rests in 25 to 175 feet (7.6 to 53.3 m). Her bow lies partially broken up in shallow water, while her stern is intact and in deeper water. The wreck was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and has become a popular site for recreational divers.