Empress of the North

During her years as the Empress of the North, the ship ran aground five times. This vessel hit bottom during her launching from the yard when the restraint system failed and some of the boat builders had to jump in the waters of Puget Sound to avoid being run over. This vessel struck a navigation lock in October 2003 at the Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River, and suffered another grounding in November 2003 near The Dalles in the Columbia River. This vessel grounded again in March 2006 near Washougal in the Columbia River. On May 14, 2007, on a clear day with calm sea this vessel hit a rock off Juneau, AK, and had to be evacuated. The Empress of the North did not sink but was heavily damaged.

In 2014 this vessel operated on the Columbia and Snake Rivers for the American Queen Steamboat Company after about six years of lay-up. The American Empress is run mainly by the stern paddlewheel, but has additional Z-drives for higher speed and difficult navigation situations. Kyle Stubbs reports (July 2026): "American Queen Voyages was shut down and declared bankruptcy in February of 2024. The American Queen was subsequently acquired by American Cruises Lines (ACL), which after having the vessel laid-up at Tongue Point in Astoria, Oregon, had the vessel towed to Wrangell, Alaska in 2025, where it is being transformed into a landing stage for ACL's use on the Wrangell waterfront."