Over the past seven years, around £9m (US$13.8m, €10.5m) has been spent renovating and restoring the SS Nomadic to how it looked in 1912 when it ferried passengers to the Titanic on their doomed voyage.

The ship, which is exactly quarter the size of the Titanic, is also the last remaining White Star Line vessel - a shipping company that operated until 1934 before merging with Cunard Line.

The Nomadic was saved by a campaign in 2005 and was bough at auction in 2006 by the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development for €250,001 (£213,423, US$ 327,167).

Tourism Minister, Arlene Foster, said: The Nomadic is another important dimension to the huge Titanic success story and it provides a real opportunity for tourists to stay longer and explore more of Belfast."

The Nomadic is now docked in Belfast's new Titanic quarter, near the close by Titanic visitor's centre, which has had more than 650,000 people come through its doors since it opened nine months ago.