Man's death delays Nomadic return

A picture of the Nomadic taken from a helicopter above Belfast

The homecoming ceremony for the SS Nomadic has been delayed after a man working on the boat at the Harland and Wolff shipyard collapsed and died.

Nomadic, which arrived in Belfast on Saturday, was used to ferry passengers to the ill-fated Titanic.

It had been planned that the boat would be towed up the River Lagan on Monday evening for a ceremony at the Odyssey complex.

NIO Minister David Hanson said the event would now be held on Tuesday.

"With the fatality having occurred it was not appropriate to have the celebration that we would have had, but we will be meeting again tomorrow to welcome the Nomadic back again," he said.

The Nomadic Preservation Society's John White said: "It's very tragic that this has happened today, and our deepest sympathies go out to his family."

Mr White, who had travelled from Southampton for the unveiling, said the delay would not matter.

"She's been away from Belfast for 75 years - another day sitting up the Lagan won't make any difference," he said.

The Nomadic as she looked early in the 20th century

The ship has been cleaned up since it arrived after its four-day trip from the French port of Le Havre.

The government has set up a trust to look after the ship.

Members will decide what restoration should take place and look at ways of raising money to complete the work.

It is thought the bill to fully restore the Nomadic could be as much as £7m, but Social Development Minister David Hanson said it was too soon to say how much money would be needed.

"If we want the Nomadic back on the lough in Belfast doing trips it will cost much more than if we simply want to put it in dry dock at the side of the Odyssey," he said.

"But it is not government's job to fund the restoration of the vessel.

"Government has played its job by buying it and bringing it back and I am giving the trust ample time to make very strong inroads to raise the level of money they need to ensure that we get the best out of Nomadic for the future of Belfast."

The SS Nomadic is being cleaned up before going on show

David Scott-Beddard of the Nomadic Preservation Society said that while the restoration process would take years, it was tremendous to see the ferry return to its home port.

"It's lovely to see her back here, to see 95 years of history, the last White Star Line vessel afloat, built by Harland and Wolff, back in Belfast - it's a tremendous day," he said.

The Nomadic, which was built in the city, once ferried first class passengers to the doomed liner.

The plan is that once the boat comes in, it will remain at the Odyssey Centre for a few days before being taken away for restoration.

The Nomadic's return to Belfast comes almost a century after it was built by Harland and Wolff, the company which also built the Titanic.

It was commissioned by the famous White Star Line and used to take first and second class passengers out to Titanic at Cherbourg in 1912.

The Titanic entered legend when it sank with the loss of more than 1,500 people on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, but the Nomadic's story continued.

It saw out the end of the century as a floating restaurant beside the Eiffel Tower in Paris before being sent for storage in Le Havre.