RMS Empress of China (1891)
Empress of China
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| History | |
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| Name: | 1891-1913: RMS Empress of China |
| Owner: | 1891-1912:  Canadian Pacific Railway
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| Port of registry: | 1891-1912: Canada |
| Builder: | Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow |
| Laid down: | 1890 |
| Launched: | 25 March 1890 |
| Maiden voyage: | 15 July 1891 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1912, Yokohama |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 5,905 tons |
| Length: | 455.7 ft |
| Beam: | 51.2 ft |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 16 knots |
| Capacity: |
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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.
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.
The RMS Empress of China and her two running mates, the RMS Empress of India and the RMS Empress of Japan, created a flexible foundation for the CPR trans-Pacific fleet which would ply this route for the next half century.
The Empress of China was built by Naval Construction & Armament Co. (now absorbed into Vickers Armstrongs) at Barrow, England. The keel was laid in 1890; and she was launched on 25 March 1891.
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-coloured funnels with a band of black paint at the top, three lightweight schooner-type masts, and an average speed of 16-knots. This Empress and her two sister-ship Empresses were the first vessels in the Pacific to have twin propellers with reciprocating engines. The ship was designed to provide accommodation for 770 passengers (120 first class, 50 second class and 600 steerage).
The SS Empress of China left Liverpool on 15 July 1891 on her maiden voyage via Suez to Hong Kong and Vancouver. Thereafter, she regularly sailed the route between Canada and the east coast of Asia. In the early days of wireless telegraphy, the call sign established for the Empress of China was "MPG."
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