RMS Empress of Russia was a steam turbine ocean liner built in 1912–13 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific steamships (CP).

In November 1914, the highlight of this Indian Ocean tour of duty followed from a rendezvous at sea with the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney.

In what was called the Battle of Cocos, Sydney had engaged the German cruiser SMS Emden, forcing the raider to beach herself on North Keeling Island to avoid sinking.

[3] At this point, Empress of Russia was sailing in a convoy of troop ships carrying 30,000 ANZACs from Albany, Australia to Suez and Europe.

Bluntly, the Turks were told that if British and French consuls, who had been kidnapped, were not brought back, the port city would be demolished.

[3] Amongst those sailing with Empress of Russia in this period was Sumner Welles, who was to become one of President Franklin Roosevelt's foreign policy advisers.

[14] In April 1917 Empress of Russia brought 2,056 members of the Chinese Labor Corps (CLC) from Weihaiwei in China across the Pacific to Williams Head on Vancouver Island.

She sailed to Le Havre where Chinese labor battalions boarded Empress of Russia for the return voyage via Suez to Hong Kong.

In this period, Empress of Russia transported Philippine Senator Manuel L. Quezon on his return to Manila from the first Independence Mission to the US Congress in 1919.

In a 1938 edition, the Times reported: Letter mail and printed matter for China, Brunei, Dutch East Indies (including Sumatra), French Indo-China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Labuan, Malay States, North Borneo, Philippine islands, Sarawak and Straits Settlements and printed matter for Siam via Yokohama.

Initially, she carried Australian and New Zealand Air Force recruits to Canada for flight school training.

[3] The captain of Empress of Russia in 1941–42 would only realize many years later that he had had a VIP aboard — a young Midshipman Philip Mountbatten (later to become Duke of Edinburgh) is remembered for having helped stoke the boilers in 1941.

Work was begun on the refitting Empress of Russia for service transporting Canadian troops from Europe to North America; however, she was gutted by fire on 8 September 1945 at Barrow.