The Nomadic was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast (yard number 422).
She was launched on 25 April 1911 and delivered to the White Star Line on 27 May. She 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 10 April 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.

World War One stopped the transatlantic traffic. The Nomadic 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. The Nomadic, by now called Ingenieur Minard, sailed under the French flag. In 1939 World War Two broke out. Once again, 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 the Queen Elizabeth, Cunard Line, for the last time in 1968 before being sent to the scrap yard.

A Mr. Spinnewyn saved the Nomadic from the scrap yard and it reverted to its original name. Mr. Spinnewyn wanted to convert it to a floating restaurant. Unfortunately the plan didn’t take off and the ship lay idle for five years.
Mr. Yvon Vincent bought Nomadic off Mr. Spinnewyn and successfully turned it into a floating restaurant on the river Sienne, near the Eifel Tower, Paris, France, before it closed and became docked and semi derelict in Le Havre in 2003.

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 Euro 250,000 at auction in Paris on 26th January 2006. Built by the same men who built the Titanic, and after a round trip of 95 years, Nomadic came home to Belfast, amid much publicity, in July of that year.

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.