Isle of Man Steam Packet Company England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Ports served included Liverpool, Silloth, Whitehaven, Holyhead, Ardrossan, Blackpool, Belfast and Dublin. Vessels and crews of the company were actively involved in both the First and Second World Wars. One vessel, , was attached to the British Grand Fleet and led the German High Seas Fleet into Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands at the end of the First World War. Another vessel, "Viking", was converted to become a seaplane carrier, serving as . During the First World War, eleven out of a total fleet of fifteen Steam Packet ships were requisitioned by the Admiralty.
Maritime history of the United Kingdom - did not have orders to raid shipping and was instead underway to Germany when it was defeated by the British at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914, with only "Dresden" escaping destruction. The Battle of Jutland was the major sea battle of the First World War. Although the British Grand Fleet suffered greater losses than the German High Seas Fleet, the latter withdrew to port and the British retained control of the North Sea. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities the British initiated a Naval Blockade of Germany, preventing supplies from reaching its ports. The strategy