RMS Olympic to Belfast where the passengers disembarked. Following "Olympic"s return to Britain, the White Star Line intended to lay her up in Belfast until the war was over, but in May 1915 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty, to be used as a troop transport, along with the Cunard liners and . The Admiralty had initially been reluctant to use large ocean liners as troop transports because of their vulnerability to enemy attack, however a shortage of ships gave them little choice. At the same time, "Olympic"s other sister ship "Britannic", which had not yet been completed, was requisitioned as a
RMS Oceanic (1899) "Nothing but the very finest", was Ismay’s policy toward this new venture, and she was constructed at Harland and Wolff’s Queen's Island yard at Belfast, as was the tradition with White Star Line ships. "Oceanic" was built to accommodate slightly over 1,700 passengers, with 349 crew. In his autobiography, "Titanic and Other Ships", Charles Lightoller gives an account of what it was like to be an officer on this vessel. As White Star typically ordered ships in pairs, a sister ship for "Oceanic" to be named "Olympic" was proposed. However following the death of Thomas Ismay in November 1899 the