The officers and men, however, bore traces of the harrowing experiences through which they had just passed. When questioned on the subject of the disaster they were averse to entering into conversation.
OFFICERS IN CONFERENCE
Captain Andersen, immediately after the collier reached her pier, was in conference with Captain Ove Lange, American chief of the maritime steamship company of Norway, and John J. Griffin, attorney for the company, both of whom had come on from New York to get the report of the captain and sailors first hand, and to look into the situation.
THEIR VERSION OF THE ACCIDENT
Captain Andersen declined at first to discuss the disaster, declaring that he would make a statement later in the evening. Subsequently a statement based on Captain Andersen’s report as well as the reports of other officers to Messrs. Lange and Griffin was given out.
According to the captain and officers, contrary to what had been stated by the captain of the Empress of Ireland, the Storstad did not back away after the collision. On the contrary, she steamed ahead in an effort to keep her bow in the hole she had dug into the side of the Empress. The Empress, however, according to the Storstad officers, headed away and bent the Storstad’s bow over at an acute angle to port.
After that the Empress was hidden from the view of the Storstad and despite the fact that the Storstad kept her whistle blowing she could not locate the Empress until the cries of some of the victims in the water were heard. The captain absolutely denied that he had backed away from the Empress after his vessel struck the passenger steamship. The Storstad had not moved. It was the Empress which had changed position, he declared.
ENGINEERS’ STATEMENTS
One of the most important statements was that of the third engineer of the Storstad, who was not averse to talking, but refused to give his name. He was on duty in the engine room when the collision occurred.
“How long before you struck was the signal given to go astern?” he was asked.