Oceanic (unfinished ship)

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For other ships of the same name, see Oceanic.

In the 1920s, the White Star Line gave the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff the commission to build the first 1000-foot-long ocean liner, with the planned name of Oceanic.

The order was placed 18 January 1928, and construction began almost immediately. The work was slowed by a dispute over powerplant; Lord Kylsant, an owner of White Star, wanted to use diesel-electric instead of the traditional steam power. White Star proposed having over 40 diesel generator sets driving three propellers through geared electric motors. Harland & Wolff was reluctant to adopt this system, and by the time all parties had settled on the use of diesel, the Great Depression was underway and hitting the shipping business. Further work on the Oceanic was postponed, and eventually the portion of the keel already constructed was broken up and used in building the smaller but similar ship, MV Britannic.

Based on original plans, the ship would have weighed 60,000 tons and have three smoke stacks, making her appear like a larger version of the MV Britannic. Some maritime experts believe that she would have been completed as a ship of about 80,000 tones, roughly the size of her rivals SS Normandie and RMS Queen Mary, along with powerful engines which would have enabled the ship to possibly gain the Blue Riband record for speed.