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Captain Kendall Blames the Storstad

(Statement of Captain Kendall, Commander of the Empress of Ireland, Made at the Coroner’s Inquest at Rimouski)

SLIGHT FOGBANK—NEARNESS OF STORSTAD—SIGNAL GIVEN AND ANSWERED—SHOUTED TO COLLIER—SHIP BEGAN TO FILL—LIFEBOATS OUT—DISTRESS SIGNALS—SHIP FOUNDERED QUICKLY—CAPTAIN SHOT INTO THE SEA—RESCUED—WORK TO SAVE OTHERS—NO PANIC ABOARD

After passing Cock Point gas buoy, I sighted the steamship Storstad, it then being clear.

The Storstad was then about one point on my starboard bow. At that time I saw a slight fogbank coming gradually from the land and knew it was going to pass between the Storstad and myself. The Storstad was about two miles away at that time. Then the fog came and the Storstad’s lights disappeared. I rang full speed astern on my engines and stopped my ship.

At the same time I blew three short blasts on the steamer’s whistle, meaning “I am going full speed astern.” The Storstad answered with the whistle, giving me one prolonged blast.

I then looked over the side of my ship into the water and saw my ship was stopped. I stopped my engines and blew two long blasts, meaning “my ship was under way, but stopped and has no way upon her.”

He answered me again with one prolonged blast. The sound was then about four points upon my starboard bow.

Shouted to Collier

It was still foggy. I looked out to where the sound came from. About two minutes afterward I saw his red and green lights. He would then be about one ship’s length away from me. I shouted to him through the megaphone to go full speed astern, as I saw the danger of collision was inevitable; at the same time I put my engines full speed ahead, with my helm hard aport, with the object of avoiding, if possible, the shock. Almost at the same time he came right in and cut me down in a line between the funnels.

I shouted to the Storstad to keep full speed ahead to fill the hole he had made. He then backed away. The ship began to fill and listed over rapidly. When he struck me, I had stopped my engines. I then ran full speed ahead again when I saw the danger was so great, with the object of running her on shore to save passengers and ship. Almost immediately the engines stopped, the ship filling and going over all the time, on the starboard.

In the meantime I had given orders to have the lifeboats launched. I rushed along the starboard side of the boat deck and threw all the grips out of numbers 1, 3, 5, and 7 boats; then I went back to the bridge again, where I saw the chief officer rushing along to the bridge. I told him to tell the wireless operator at once to send out distress signals. He told me that this had been done.

Photo by Underwood & Underwood, NY

ONE OF THE SURVIVORS

Many of those rescued were injured either in the collision or the rush that followed it. This survivor’s wounds are being dressed by the surgeon of the lost ship, who also had a narrow escape.

RESCUED CREW OF THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND

A group of the crew on board the Storstad which sent the Empress to the bottom.

Ship Foundered Quickly

I said: “Get the boats out as quick as possible.” That was the last I saw of the chief officer. Then, in about three to five minutes after that, the ship turned over and foundered. I was shot into the sea myself from the bridge and taken down with the suction. The next thing I remember was seizing a piece of grating. How long I was on it I do not know, but I heard some men shout from a lifeboat, “There is the captain, let us save him.”

Work to Save Others

They got to me and pulled me in the boat. The boat already had about thirty persons in it. I did my best with the people in the boat to assist in saving others. We pulled around and picked up twenty or thirty more in the boat, and also put about ten around the side in the water, with ropes around their waists, hanging on.

Seeing that we could not possibly save any more, we pulled to the Storstad, which was then about a mile and a half away. I got all these people put on board the Storstad, then left her with six of the crew and went back and tried to save more. When we got back there everybody had gone. We searched around and could not see anybody alive, so then we returned to the Storstad.

No Panic Aboard

I had full control of the crew, and they fought to the end. There was no panic among the passengers or crew. Everybody behaved splendidly. As the ship sank and the water rose the boats floated away. The people who were saved were saved by the Empress’s boats and by the wreckage.

The Storstad had three or four of her boats out and they pulled around and took people off the wreckage. They did not get many.