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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