The maker of the Oscar-winning movie was in the city to launch a new exhibition on the vessel at the Titanic Belfast visitor centre.

The new exhibition at the museum is based on the blockbuster and props and costumes from some of the most memorable scenes from the movie are on display.

He said the designers of the ship worked as it sank to stop it from rolling over - allowing lifeboats to be lowered to evacuate people.

Mr Cameron said: "I believe firmly that they are the unsung heroes of Titanic, that kept that ship upright, the stately image that we all think of when we think of Titanic sinking.

Speaking to UTV, he said it was fantastic to finally be in the birthplace of the ship as he didn't get to visit Northern Ireland during the making of the film.

"It probably has to do with the focus of the movie, which was mostly on the voyage itself and the sinking and so on - we didn't spend anytime showing how the ship was constructed," he explained.

"I had originally written some scenes where we see the ship under construction so of course I wanted to come here then to do the research."

This museum is relatively new, and it's such a great opportunity to see how Belfast is celebrating its own legacy and part role in history.

James Cameron

The Canadian filmmaker said that interest in the ship's story has not waned.

"All you have to do is go to the book store here in the museum to see this enormous array of books that have been written on the subject to gage the interest which doesn't seem to be waning at all, even now 100 years later," he said.

"I think it's because it's a timeless story and I think it will be some way relevant to the human condition thousands of years from now. I think it's almost moved to a status of myth or legend."

"I think it's because it says so much about us as people, how much we care about each other, how much we dread being separated and if you think about the moment when husbands had to put wives and children in the lifeboats and they would be separated forever, but the stoicism, the self-sacrifice and so on, these are things that we always want to celebrate."

The exhibition coincides with the global release of Titanic on 2D and 3D Blu-ray.

The famous movie adaption that made Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet global stars, tells the story of the ill-fated maiden voyage of the "ship of dreams" through the romance between two star-crossed lovers.

Cameron and producer Jon Landau opened the first exhibit dedicated to the film at the world's largest Titanic museum.

There are some items from Cameron's personal collection including the ship's wheel and other technical equipment.

Costumes have been borrowed from 20th Century Fox, including the originals worn by the film's stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in their final scenes.

"To bring a movie out on mass release again, to bring it out to a global audience 15 years on is fantastic," he said.

3D was a way to reinvent the movie, to bring it back to the market place but without fundamentally changing it artistically, which was important to me."