Empress of Ireland: First scientific study of wreck underway

The first scientific expedition to explore the wreck of the Empress of Ireland since the 1914 sinking of the Liverpool-bound passenger liner got underway Thursday in the St. Lawrence River

Only 465 of the ships 1,477 passengers and crew survived after a Norwegian ship carrying coal struck the Empress of Ireland off Rimouski,Que., and ripped open thehull.

The Canadian Pacific Railway-ownedship, now known as"Canada's Titanic,"sank in only 14 minutes and still rests 45metres below the surface.

The CPR dispatched divers soon after the disaster to salvage $150,000 in silver bullion that sank with the ship. Following that salvage mission, the exact location of the ship was lost until it was rediscoveredin 1964.

The wreckhas been visited by countless recreational divers and treasure hunters, but the Parks Canada expedition is the first to thoroughly study the wreck.

Expedition leader Charles Dagneausaid the expedition hopes to resolve long-standing concerns about the ships rudder, which was suspected of not functioning correctly at the time of the accident.

Dagneau said no records of the rudders design exist.

"One thing in particular that were looking at is the rudder of the ship that was changed throughout the life of the Empress of Ireland. That's something that's not well-documented, by history, there's no plans, there's no drawing. So we're going to see how it's built, he said.

The expedition will last until the end of July.