SS Nomadic sister ship of the Titanic was brought back to its home city and it is now being restored to its former glory .
The Nomadic was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast , yard number 422, and was launched on Monday on her way to the White Star Line on May 27.
SS Nomadic is 233.6 ft long – 37.3 ft wide with a speed of 12 knots. Her gross tonnage is 1273. Nomadic attended the departure of the Olympic for Liverpool on 31 May 1911, the same day as Titanic was launched.
The Nomadic and her little sister, the Traffic, were built to ferry passengers and freight to and from the White Star Liners calling at Cherbourg. The Traffic ferried the “not so famous” third class passengers, baggage and freight while Nomadic, with its plush interior, was given the job of bringing the rich and famous to Titanic and Olympic’s gangway doors. By April 10, 1912, the two tenders had met and served Olympic on each of her twelve subsequent Cherbourg visits. Now they were to serve another liner on the first day, and at the first stop, of her own maiden trip: RMS Titanic. After the tragic accident which befell Titanic, Nomadic continued to service Olympic and other White Star liners calling at Cherbourg. But these were troublesome times.
WW I stopped the transatlantic traffic and the ship left Cherbourg in 1917 and sailed to Brest from where she was used to ferry American soldiers around the coast of France.
In 1927 White Star Line sold the ship to the Compagnie Cherbourgeoise de Transborde-ment (CCT). The CCT sold her to the Société Cherbourgeoise de Remorquage et de Sauvetage in 1934.
During WW II the ship was used as a troopship and participated in the evacuation of British soldiers from Le Havre and from Brest. When Germany occupied France, Nomadic was returned to England where she served as a coastal patrol vessel and minelayer until returning to Cherbourg in 1945.
The ship continued to service luxury cruise liners until November 1968. She served Queen Elizabeth, Cunard Line, for the last time in 1968 before being sent to the scrap yard. A campaign was launched by enthusiasts from Belfast to bring Nomadic back to Belfast where she belongs. Thankfully, that campaign was successful and the Department for Social Development purchased the Nomadic for €250,001 at auction in Paris on January 26, 2006. Built by the same men who built the Titanic, and after a round trip of 95 years, Nomadic was brought home to Belfast.
The Department for Social Development set up the Nomadic Charitable Trust, representing all shades of public opinion, in October 2006, with the aim of raising funding to restore the ship and to develop the ship as a highly prized tourist and cultural attraction.
As the last floating link to the White Star Line, she is also the last accessible maritime link to Titanic. The Trust intend to restore her to her former glory and develop her as a static floating visitor attraction in the heart of Belfast docks, to ensure that the public and overseas visitors can learn more about the ship and about the maritime and industrial heritage of one of the great industrial cities of the 19th and 20th Century – Belfast.