RMS Oceanic

RMS Oceanic was a transatlantic ocean liner built for the White Star Line. She began her journey on her first trip, called her maiden voyage, on 6 September 1899 and was the biggest ship in the world until 1901. During this time, she was very famous and important for moving people and goods across the ocean.

When World War I started, the Oceanic was changed into an armed merchant cruiser to help protect ships. She joined the Royal Navy on 8 August 1914.

Later, on 25 August 1914, the Oceanic, now called HMS Oceanic, left from Southampton to watch the waters near the north of Scotland up to the Faroe islands. But on 8 September, she got stuck in the sand and rocks and crashed onto the shore near the island of Foula, in the Shetland Islands. This marked the end of her time at sea.

Background

In the late 1890s, the White Star Line’s biggest ships, the Teutonic and Majestic, launched in 1889, were no longer the best because technology was changing fast. Their rival, the Cunard Line, had launched the Campania and Lucania in 1893. Then, starting in 1897, a German company, Norddeutscher Lloyd, began adding four new big ships called the Kaiser-class ocean liners, starting with the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. To stay competitive, White Star Line needed to build an even bigger and better ship.

Design and construction

The RMS Oceanic was built at Harland and Wolff’s Queen’s Island yard in Belfast. Construction started in 1897. The ship focused on luxury and size instead of speed. It was the first ship to be longer than Brunel's Great Eastern, though not heavier.

Oceanic could carry 1,710 passengers and 349 crew members. First Class had comfortable cabins and special areas like a library and a dining room with a piano and an organ. Second Class had smaller but still nice spaces. Third Class passengers had their own areas separated from the others, with rooms for single men, women, and families.

Career

Oceanic was launched on January 14, 1899, watched by over 50,000 people. She was the largest and last British ocean liner launched in the 1800s. After tests, she left Belfast for Liverpool on August 26, 1899, and was greeted with excitement. Her first trip to New York began on September 6, 1899, under Captain John G. Cameron. She completed the trip in just over 6 days and was welcomed warmly in New York.

In her early years, Oceanic was very popular, carrying more passengers than other ships. She faced some challenges, like being struck by lightning and dealing with rough seas. In 1907, plans changed so that Oceanic would start its trips from Southampton, stopping at Cherbourg and Queenstown before heading to New York. In 1912, she was near when the Titanic had a close call in Southampton and later helped retrieve items from the water after Titanic sank. In 1914, a huge wave damaged Oceanic, but no one was seriously hurt.

World War I

The Oceanic was built with special rules that allowed it to be used by the navy if needed. When World War I started, the ship was called to serve. On August 8, 1914, it became part of the Royal Navy as an armed merchant cruiser.

The Oceanic started its naval duty on August 25, 1914, from Southampton. Its job was to watch the waters between the North Scottish mainland, the Faroes, and Shetland. The ship carried Royal Marines and had two captains, which caused some confusion.

While moving carefully to avoid enemy submarines, the Oceanic made a mistake in its position at night on September 7. The next morning, September 8, the ship ran aground on a hidden reef near the island of Foula. Everyone on board was safely rescued by other ships. The Oceanic broke apart and sank a few weeks later during a big storm. The incident was kept quiet at the time because it would have been embarrassing for the navy.

Salvage

In 1924, a company tried to raise parts of the ship that had sunk near Scapa Flow, but they failed. Later, in 1973, two people used diving gear to collect more than 200 tonnes of valuable metal from the wreck over several years. One of them wrote a popular book about their experience called The Other Titanic.

Lifeboat

In 2016, Oceanic's Lifeboat 6 was found and fixed up. You can see it at the Shetland Museum in Lerwick. It is one of the last two White Star Line lifeboats still in good shape, the other being Lifeboat 2 from SS Nomadic (1911).