Between 1948 and 2023, instead of the usual
livery hall, the Honourable Company of Master Mariners had a headquarters ship,
HQS Wellington, moored on the Thames at
Victoria Embankment. The Company purchased the
sloop from the Admiralty in 1947 following donations from their members. She was subsequently converted for use as a floating livery hall in
Chatham Dockyard. On display on the ship was the steering wheel of the ship
Otago, the Master
Joseph Conrad having sailed on the
Otago. Following her destruction in 1931, the wheel was presented to the Honourable Company. ==Coat of arms==