EMPEROR

About the EMPEROR

The Emperor was built in 1911 for the Inland Navigation Co. at the Collingwood Shipbuilding Yard. She was 525 feet long and sailed for Inland Nav. until 1913 when she was aquired by Canada Steamship Lines.
On June 4th 1947 while enroute to Ashtabula Ohio she met her final fate on Lake Superior. With a load of iron ore from Port Arthur she struck the Canoe Rocks near Isle Royale, ripping herself in half. She slipped into deep water with 12 of her 33 crewmembers, the remaining 21 were later rescued by the USCGC KIMBALL

 

About the wreck

GPS-N48.12.058 W088.29.582

The Emperor lies in 30 to 165 feet of water. The bow, which was ripped away from the rest of the ship begins at 30' and goes to 80'. Her bow section is mostly destroyed as all her forward cabins are gone. There are some interesting things to see such as her forward anchors, a large winch, brass porthole and lots of iron ore, not much to penetrate however.
Visibilty is around 25' - 50' at the bow
The stern section lies deeper in 100' to 165'. She is mostly intact, although her stack has fallen over to port and starboard interior walls have been destroyed 3/4 of the way. There are two intact cabins on the starboard side front and the port side cabins and galley are also intact. Through a skylight you can drop into the engineroom and navigate fairly easily, although you will want a good flashlight. The boilerroom is accessible thru the coal chute on the roof but don't go down unless your well trained in wreck penetration, it is very silty.
The propeller hub is at 150' and is minus the blades. The rudder is still attached. The down line to the stern is located on the front of the stern roof. A large vent stands right behind it on the port side.
Surface currents are sometimes difficult to manage, although once at the wreck they are usually not bad. Water temps range from 38f in mid-June to 44f in late August.
Thanks to Rob Farrow for providing underwater description of the wreck

Contact the Isle Royale Park Headquarters for more information on diving this wreck.

 

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The Emperor

 

 

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