Right across the road from the lighthouse in Rimouski is the historic Maritime Museum de la Pointe-au- which houses the RMS Empress a ship that is sort of Canada’s Titanic. That vessel played a very important role in the history of Canadian shipping and navigation.
The museum commemorates the tragic sinking of the Empress of Irelandocean liner in the St. Lawrence River to Rimouski. It was the worst maritime disaster in Canadian history. Of the 1,477 people on board, 1,012 died. Actually what I read was that they were “lost.” But I think reality is worse. The ship sank on May 29, 1914 near Rimouski.
The land has been declared a national historic site. The ship was considered a symbol of luxury at the time. It had spacious décor with rich wood panels and fireplaces. First class passengers were offered a music and writing room, a café, smoking room, and library. The ship and her sister ship were in their time the fastest ships making the trans-Atlantic run.
Shortly before she sank after a collision with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad, the Commander was told by the pilot, “I don’t think you should run into much fog for the rest of the night. Good luck commander.” Even though no passenger was given a cabin numbered 13, many on board suffered bad luck. In fact, it was the worst luck. On this day the Empress was unlucky as were most of her passengers.