However, moves were afoot in Belfast to finally create a reason for tourists to visit the city. Supported by Belfast City Council, Belfast Harbour Commissioners, numerous industrial and Titanic societies and various public appeals, the Department for Social Development and the Northern Ireland Office purchased Nomadic at auction for £171,320 in January of this year. The plan is for the vessel to be restored to its original luxurious specification and serve as the centrepiece of a 'Titanic Quarter' in Belfast which would also include the Harland & Wolff slipway where Titanic was built. The largely desolate 165 acre site is set to be transformed by the largest property development in Northern Ireland's history. It is imperative that work is completed by 2011 in order for the scheme to capitalise on Titanic's centenary in 2012, when interest in Titanic and its history will peak.

The first tangible step in this process was the highly symbolic return of Nomadic to Belfast last month on board Anchor Marine Transport's submersible barge AMT Mariner. The four day towage from Le Havre was trouble free.

Restoration cost estimates range from £2m to make Nomadic into a viable museum piece up to £7m for restoration to its fully functional original condition. A charitable trust is due to convene in September to oversee the project. There is a view in Belfast that the city has for far too long missed its claim to fame as the birthplace of the world's most famous and fabled ship. It is hoped that the opportunity for Nomadic to become the flagship of both a successful Titanic Quarter and a new Northern Ireland will not be squandered.

MJInformation No: 22106