The restoration of a tender ship which ferried passengers to the doomed Titanic was boosted today with the award of over £2 million in European funding.

Last month auditors expressed concern that the £7 million refit of the derelict SS Nomadic may not be completed, on schedule, for the centenary of its launch in Belfast in 2011 due to a cash shortfall.

The charitable trust responsible for the project was struggling to meet its own £5 million fundraising target for this year, with less than £1.4 million received when the Northern Ireland Audit Office examined the accounts in January.

But chair of the Nomadic Charitable Trust Denis Rooney said the £2.27 million EU grant had now given them the financial backing to meet the 2011 completion deadline.

"This substantial amount of funding is a very generous contribution from the EU and fantastic news for the project," he said.

"It gives us the financial backing we need to really push the restoration forward and affirms its viability, setting us on target to restore Nomadic in time to celebrate her 2011 centenary."

The trust said it was confident of securing the remainder of the required funding from other sources and that restoration work was on track to start at the end of the year.

Both the Nomadic and the Titanic were launched from Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyards in 1911.

Less than a year after the White Star Line-owned vessels left the city, the Nomadic was employed to transport first and second class passengers from the French port of Cherbourg to the Titanic ahead of its ill-fated maiden Atlantic voyage.

On that trip it sank after striking an iceberg with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

It is intended the Nomadic, which was saved from a wreckers' yard in France three years ago by the Stormont executive, will be open to the public in Belfast's docklands ahead of the much-hyped 100th anniversary of its launch.

The ship's restoration is one of a series of Titanic-themed projects under way in Belfast ahead of 2011. A £100 million tourist centre dedicated to the story of the liner is also being built on the site of the old shipyards.

The latest funding was secured under the PEACE III Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

Pat Colgan, Chief Executive of the SEUPB said: "We are delighted to support this iconic project which will help promote a greater understanding of our shared history and the legacy of one of Northern Ireland's most celebrated maritime achievements.

"Upon its completion, the SS Nomadic will act as a catalyst for cross-community engagement in a shared space possessing a rich cultural history that everybody can enjoy."

Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie, whose department retains ownership of the vessel, said: "I very much welcome this EU funding and it is a significant step in the restoration project.

"The Nomadic will help build alliances and relations between our communities and be a fantastic education resource for all."