NOMADIC (White Star Line)

postcard by Stuart Williamson, 

not posted, 

6" x 4", 150mm x 100mm (approx)

our ref: SRZ718

NOMADIC (White Star Line)

Passenger tender built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, as Nomadic for the White Star Line. Built to operate at Cherbourg and serve Olympic, Titanic and other liners too large to dock at the port. During WW1 she was requisitioned by the French Government to serve as a minesweeper and patrol ship, returning to commercial service in 1919. Sold in 1927 to Compagnie Cherbourgeoise de Transbordement, same name and tendering duties. Following the opening of the deep water port in 1934 she was sold to SCSR, the Cherbourg Tow & Rescue Society, and renamed Ingenieur Minard. In 6/1940 she took part in the evacuation of Cherbourg and then served the Royal Navy at Portsmouth as a patrol ship, minelayer and troop transport. After the war with the port of Cherbourg having been heavily damaged she returned to tendering duties there, serving Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, amongst others, up until 1968. After laying idle for 5 years she was purchased by a Yvon Vincent and converted into a floating restaurant on the River Seine at Paris. Following financial problems she was seized by Paris authorities in 2002 and the following year towed to Le Havre. In 2006 she was purchased for preservation at Belfast and is operated as part of the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction.