She was built for the White Star Line by Harland and Wolff, at Belfast, to serve the Olympic-class ocean liners.

At the start of the 20th century, the port of Cherbourg, France, was on the verge of becoming an essential stopover for most of the British and German ocean liners traveling between Europe and the United States.

From 1909, the Cherbourg stopover took on a new dimension and a ferry terminal (which was not completed until 1912) was built to accommodate passengers arriving by special trains from Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris.

[2] To this end, White Star Line recovered in 1907, an old tender, renamed the Gallic, which took care of the ferrying of passengers.

Lord Pirrie, director of Harland & Wolff yards, and his nephew Thomas Andrews conceived of two new tenders and submit the idea to Joseph Bruce Ismay, president of White Star Line.

The work was being done under the direction of the architect Roderick Chisholm and Andrews, at an accelerated pace to be ready for the maiden voyage of the Olympic, in June 1911.

Thus the Traffic was provided with a chamois-coloured funnel adorned with a black cuff, like all the ships of White Star Line.

The interior facilities were comfortable and neat, the idea being that passengers should not perceive the crossing onboard the Nomadic and the Traffic as a simple ferrying, but rather as the start of a journey.

[9] On 31 May 1911, after her sea trials, the Olympic docked at Liverpool, United Kingdom, her home port and headquarters of the White Star Line, to be presented to the gathered crowd.

[13] Although British-owned and flying the flag of the White Star Line, the port of registration of the Traffic was that of Cherbourg and she was operated by a French crew.

[13] In April 1912, she transported third-class passengers, mail, and baggage to the Titanic during the vessel's stopover in Cherbourg on her maiden voyage.

The flags were at half mast, and the Nomadic and Traffic officers wore black ties as a sign of mourning.

[15] Traffic and Nomadic were sold to Société Cherbourgeoise Transbordement in 1927,[17] and continued to serve as tenders, but now called on any large vessels using the port.

After enquiries revealed that Traffic was notoriously difficult to handle, new propellers were produced by Harland & Wolff and fitted in October 1929.

When France capitulated and the German Army took control of the port on 17 June 1940, X23 was scuttled in the harbour to avoid capture by enemy.