in friendly waters in good weather within a fortnight of beginning its service as a naval vessel. The revelation of such gross incompetence at this early stage of the war would have done nothing for national morale. Courts-martial Lt. Blair was court-martialled at Devonport in November 1914, when he was found guilty of "stranding or suffering to be stranded" HMS Oceanic, and was ordered to be reprimanded. He offered in his defence that he was exonerated by the evidence given by Captain Slayter and Commander Smith that he was under their supervision, and that the stranding was due to abnormal currents. A similar charge was made against Commander Smith at a second court-martial; the evidence for the prosecution was the same as in the previous case, but witnesses were cross-examined with a view to showing that the position of the accused on Oceanic was not clearly defined by the naval authorities, and that he was understood to be acting solely in an advisory capacity. He was acquitted the following day, as he was found not to have been in command on 8 September. Captain Slayter was also acquitted. Salvage In 1924, a salvage company which had been engaged on the scuttled German warships at Scapa Flow attempted to salvage what remained of the wreck; however they were unsuccessful. In 1973 another attempt was made to salvage parts of the wreck and the propellers for scrap. Lifeboat In 2016, Oceanic's Lifeboat 6 was rediscovered and subsequently restored. It is in the collection of the Shetland Museum in Lerwick. The lifeboat is one of the last two White Star Line lifeboats still intact in the world, the other being Lifeboat 2 from . Notes References Bibliography The Other Titanic, Simon Martin (Salvage report, 1980). External links Oceanic on thegreatoceanliners.com Oceanic - at the White Star Line History Website White Star Line Brochure 1907 contains photographs and accommodation descriptions for Oceanic'' and other White Star ships. YouTube video dedicated to the RMS Oceanic Scottish Shipwrecks, RMS Oceanic Ships built in Belfast Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Steamships Shipwrecks of Scotland Maritime incidents in September 1914 Ships of the White Star Line World War I Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy RMS Titanic 1899 ships Ships built by Harland and Wolff