BADLY DAMAGED, THE COLLIER DOCKS AT MONTREAL—SEIZED ON WARRANT—OFFICERS IN CONFERENCE—THEIR VERSION OF THE ACCIDENT—HELPED RESCUE EMPRESS PASSENGERS—STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN ANDERSEN’S WIFE—GAVE ALL THEY HAD TO RESCUED PASSENGERS—STORSTAD’S OWNERS FILE COUNTER SUIT
WITH the Norwegian flag flying half-mast at her stern the collier Storstad, in charge of the tug Lord Strathcona, came into port at Montreal on Sunday.
The arrival of the Storstad at Montreal was awaited keenly from early morning. After leaving Quebec she was reported almost mile by mile by the Marconi and Government signal stations. By early morning it was definitely known that she would arrive soon after noon, and the wharf where it was announced that she would warp in was soon crowded.
Newspaper men from all over the American continent had gathered to meet her. Obtaining information, however, was a difficult task. The Norwegian Consul was one of the many on the pier, and he was appealed to, but explained that he understood several lawyers were on hand representing the owners of the vessel. The Black Diamond Line, a Norwegian firm, had several lawyers on the pier to meet the collier. The warping in was a slow process, but when it was safely accomplished a gap of fifteen feet was left between the ship and the wharf edge.
She bore the marks of her encounter with the big liner. Her bow was buckled and twisted. There was a hole in her side large enough for three men to stand in. Her anchors had cut their way through the heavy steel plates like a can opener through a sardine tin.
Rails had been torn away and huge plates of steel bent and twisted lay piled on the deck just at the bow. All the gaps were high above the water line. Nevertheless, the Storstad, undoubtedly, was practically disabled and was able to reach port only with the assistance of the Government steamer Lord Strathcona.
SEIZED ON WARRANT
In anticipation of the arrival of the Norwegian collier, W. Simpson Walker, registrar of the admiralty court, was instructed by solicitors for the Canadian Pacific Railroad to issue documents for their seizure of the Storstad for damages by collision to the extent of $2,000,000. The warrant was executed by Acting Deputy Sheriff Marson.
CARGO UNLOADED
No sooner was the vessel moored than the work of unloading her cargo of some 7,500 tons of coal started, and except for the battered condition of her bows it would have been difficult to imagine that the collier had but a few hours previously taken part in the worst marine disaster in the history of Canadian navigation.