"The Admiralty's picket fleets and intelligence networks are long gone. The Survey Office pays zee-captains a small sum for recent information."
The Admiralty is the bureaucratic remnant of the British Empire's once-mighty Royal Navy. After the Fall of London, the Admiralty was cut off from most of the Royal Navy, which remained on the Surface, and rendered practically powerless. While the Bazaar took the Traitor Empress under their protection and assumed authority over London, the Admiralty was only left in charge of maintaining London's port facilities and its few ships.
In the early years after the Fall, a faction of the Admiralty called the New Sequence launched an ambitious project to create an artificial Judgement in the Neath, the Dawn Machine. Unfortunately, the Dawn Machine broke free of its creators' control soon after completion, and used its power to subvert the New Sequence into serving as its minions. This resulted in the Admiralty losing almost all that was left of its naval forces and Royal Marines to the Dawn Machine's influence.
In the waning years of the 19th century, the Admiralty has become more of an intelligence service than a true navy. The Dark-Spectacled Admiral offers money, fuel, and the occasional favor to zee-captains who return with news from distant regions of the Unterzee.