SS Nomadic on the move - 21 December 2006
The SS Nomadic, the tender ship to the RMS Titanic, will be moved tomorrow (Friday 22 December) from her current dock at Harland and Wolff to her penultimate home at Barnett’s Dock. Here, the vessel will undergo some repair work and be covered to protect her from the elements.
Built in 1911, Nomadic - which measures just over 220 feet long and 1,273 tons – was designed to carry mainly first class passengers to the Titanic and her sister ship the Olympic.
Denis Rooney, Chair of the Nomadic Trust said: “Today marks the next step in our preparations to provide a permanent home for Nomadic. At present, our priority is to ensure that our inclement winter weather does not cause any further deterioration to the structure. We will be carrying out some first aid repairs in the coming weeks and the vessel will then be covered.
He went on to say: “I would like to thank Harland and Wolff for providing Nomadic with her first temporary home in Belfast and also to the Belfast Harbour Commission Estate for providing her new dock. The support of local organisations has been, and will continue to be, instrumental in ensuring that Nomadic is retained here in Northern Ireland as a vital part of our heritage.”
David Hanson MP, Minister for Social Development, welcomed the move of Nomadic to Barnett’s Dock as an important step in moving forward the restoration project. He said: “I would like to thank Denis Rooney and the Nomadic Trust for their work in quickly moving forward the Nomadic restoration project. I would also add my appreciation to Harland and Wolff and Belfast Harbour Commissioners for providing berths for the Nomadic.”
Notes for editors:
- The Nomadic will leave the Harland and Wolff dock at 9.30am and is expected to arrive at Barnett’s Dock at 10.30.
- Denis Rooney, Chair of the SS Nomadic Trust will be available for interview on Friday 22nd December at (location tbc)
- Nomadic's first duty was to attend Olympic at Titanic's launch in Belfast and then again at Olympic's maiden voyage from Cherbourg on 14 June 1911.
- She would serve Olympic 12 more times before it was Titanic's turn to call at Cherbourg on 10 April 1912, the day of her maiden voyage.
- Altogether Nomadic carried 172 people out to the waiting Titanic, this was barely one fifth of her passenger carrying capacity, together with large amounts of luggage.
- At the outbreak of the First World War, Nomadic was requisitioned by the French Navy, based at Brest and was subsequently used to load and unload American troops from larger ships and bring them ashore.
- By 1919, normal service was resumed and once again she began to serve the larger liners, which called at Cherbourg.
- Throughout her working life, Nomadic turned into a restaurant and ended up at Le Havre where she has remained until July 2006 when she was returned to Belfast.
|
