According to Ireland Online, the British government paid more than $305,603 to save a rusting boat which once ferried passengers on to the Titanic. The bid was accepted at an auction in Paris after fears that the SS Nomadic would end up in a breaker’s yard instead of being brought back to Belfast. The ferry was the last White Star vessel to be built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard where the Titanic was launched in 1912. A special charitable trust will now be set up to oversee fundraising and the full restoration of the Nomadic. Campaigners had urged the authorities to intervene and rescue the ship which is regarded as a crucial part of the Titanic legacy and Belfast’s history.