[2] Although not officially yet declared a prize of war, she was advertised for sale in January 1948 "as lying in the River Tyne".

[5] In December 1951, Empire Frome issued an SOS in the Atlantic Ocean whilst on a voyage from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada, to Hull, Yorkshire.

[9] The rebuild, by R S Hayes at Pembroke Dock,[10] took fifteen months at a cost of £1 million, including purchase.

[4] She could carry 3,700 tons of submarine cable, enough for 1,000 to 2,000 nautical miles (1,900 to 3,700 km) depending on size.

[4] In August 1956, she laid a power cable in the Gulf of Georgia, linking mainland British Columbia with Vancouver Island.

[13] In July 1956, Monarch and Ocean Layer laid a cable for American Telephone and Telegraph between California, United States, and Hawaii.

[4] On 15 June, a fire started in the crew's quarters whilst she was 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (48°26′N 19°03′W / 48.433°N 19.050°W / 48.433; -19.050).

Her 86 crew and twelve telephone executives on board were rescued by the German ship Flavia, which took her in tow.

A Royal Air Force Avro Shackleton was despatched from Cornwall with life-saving equipment on board, but was subsequently recalled.

The Dutch tug Loire had reached Ocean Layer first, but was refused the tow as a contract had already been made with Wotan's owners.

Access was refused by the captain of Wotan, who claimed that maritime law dictated that it was his responsibility to extinguish the fire before handing the ship over.

[22] Declared a constructive total loss, Ocean Layer was scrapped at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, South Holland, Netherlands, in December 1959.