Emperor

3D ModelNoAI

The 525 feet bulk freighter Emperor was built in 1910. It was later sold to the Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. After a thirty-seven-year career the Emperor’s story ended at Isle Royale in 1947. After loading 10,000 tons of iron ore it departed Port Arthur, with Captain Walkinshaw in command. At midnight the watch was turned over to First Mate James Morrey who had just overseen loading the vessel for six hours. His fatigue probably contributed to him not making the normal navigational checks . A new helmsman, also did not catch the error in the ship’s heading. At 4:15 am the Emperor ran hard on to Canoe Rocks and sank within 20 minutes killing twelve of the crew including both Captain Walkinshaw and First Mate Morrey. The US Coast Guard Cutter Kimball was able to reach the site within 30 minutes to pluck the nearly frozen survivors from Lake Superior waters. The 42,702 images for the Emperor model were taken by Brian Bosveld and Andrew Goodman on ten dives in the 2024 season and processed by Brian.