Canadian Pacific Ships
In the early 1880s, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
negotiated with the Government of the United Kingdom to establish trans-Pacific
steamship routes between Vancouver and the Far East. The trans-Pacific services
of Canadian Pacific were begun by Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, the
Canadian-American builder of the railroad network in 1887. In that year, Sir
William chartered three vessels from Cunard Line; the SS Abyssinia, the SS
Parthia, and the SS Batavia—as a beginning of the CP fleet. The agency for
chartering and managing the ships was secured by Adamson, Bell and Company for
the first three years. When the new shipping line had shown to be profitable,
Canadian Pacific decided not to renew the contract with Adamson, Bell and
Company and to run the line itself.
In 1891, CPR adopted a new name - the Canadian Pacific
Steamship Company (CPSC). The CPSC became one of the many shipping companies
operating in and out of Liverpool. The company expanded as people emigrating
from Europe to North America provided a larger number of passengers and the
company also started holiday cruises. As with other shipping companies, CPSC
had larger ships built to cope with the demand. In 1915, CP changed the name of
its shipping business to Canadian Pacific Steamships Ocean Services Ltd.
Canadian Pacific was an important contributor to the
Merchant Navy in World War I. Like other shipping companies, Canadian Pacific
provided ships to carry troops in both World Wars. CP lost 18 ships in the war.
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| RMS Princess Irene |
In World War I, some ships were refitted as Armed
merchantmen or auxiliary minelayers. These were operated by the British Royal
Navy, not CP Ships. For example the RMS Princess Irene and the RMS Princess
Margaret were requisitioned at the point of completion by the Royal Navy for
war service. They were manned by Navy, not CP. Neither ship was delivered to CP, Princess Irene exploded in 1915 and Princess Margaret was purchased by the
Admiralty after the war.
In World War II, the CP fleet carried over a million tons of
cargo and a million troops and civilians during the Second World War. The
Company lost twelve vessels due to enemy action which is a larger loss than any
Western company. Empress of Britain was the largest ship lost to enemy action
during the Battle of the Atlantic. Company ships participated in both the
Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the Pacific. Notably, the Merchant
Marine who operated the ships were denied veterans' benefits by the Canadian
Government until 1988.
.%2B%2BPhotographer%2B%C2%A9Stewart%2BBale%2C%2BSource%2C%2BCanadian%2BPacific%2BArchives%2BDate%2C%2B1931.jpg) |
| RMS Empress of Britain (Wikipedia). Photographer ©Stewart Bale, Source, Canadian Pacific Archives Date, 1931 |
From 1956 to 1961, the company acquired its last three steam
passenger ships RMS Empress of Britain, RMS Empress of England and RMS Empress
of Canada. Competition from airlines forced CP to retire these ships in the
1970s. The company looked towards bulk and tanker fleets as replacements for
its steamships.
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| Empress of England |
.%2B%C2%A9%2BJohn%2BRagla%2C%2BLicence%2BCreative%2BCommons.jpg) |
| RMS Empress of Canada, (right) Liverpool (1961). © John Ragla, Licence Creative Commons |
RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner built in 1961 by
Vickers-Armstrongs, Walker-on-Tyne, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships
Ltd.. This ship, the third CP vessel to be named Empress of Canada. Empress of
Canada was planned for the transatlantic route from Liverpool to Canada for the
Canadian Pacific Line. She was a slightly enlarged sister ship and running mate
for Empress of Britain and Empress of England on the route from Liverpool to
Montreal. During the months that the St. Lawrence was frozen (typically
November to April) the ships sailed from Liverpool To St. John, New Brunswick. After
completing 121 transatlantic voyages and 82 cruises for the Canadian Pacific
line she made her final arrival at Liverpool on November 23rd 1971, thus
closing for good the Liverpool-Canada link. She remained at Liverpool until
December 14th and then sailed for London's Tilbury docks for lay up, arriving
(for the first and only time) at her port of registry on December 17th.
%2B%C2%A9%2BJohn%2BRagla%2BLicence%2BCreative%2BCommons.jpg) |
| RMS_Empress of Canada (1961) © John Ragla Licence Creative Commons |
In 1971, the company changed its name to CP Ships Ltd. and
container ships were added as Intermodal freight transport became popular.
Intermodal transportation integrated well with CP's rail assets. In 1972, CP
Ships regular transatlantic passenger service from the Port of Liverpool
finished following the sale of Empress of Canada.
Sources
Liverpool Records Office
Liverpool Central Library
Canadian Pacific Archives
Wikipedia - Images
Robert F Edwards
