Nomadic reaches Odyssey complex

A picture of the Nomadic taken from a helicopter above Belfast

The SS Nomadic has been towed up the River Lagan and has been docked beside the Odyssey in Belfast harbour.

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

A welcome home ceremony which had been planned for the ship at the Odyssey for Monday had to be cancelled after a man working onboard the vessel died.

The ship will remain at the Odyssey for the next two days before it is taken away for restoration.

The rescheduled ceremony to mark the return of the ship is due to take place later on Tuesday.

Since arriving in Belfast from the French port of Le Havre four days ago, the Nomadic has been cleaned up.

Members of a trust which has been set up by the government to look after the ship will now 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.

The SS Nomadic is being cleaned up before going on show

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

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.