During her years as the Empress of the North, the ship ran aground five times. She 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.
During her tenure as Empress of the North, the vessel experienced five separate close calls with the seafloor. The ship's inaugural voyage was marked by an accident during its launch from the dock when the safety measures failed, prompting some workers to take a hazardous leap into the waters of Puget Sound to avoid being crushed.