A charity is seeking £1 million of National Lottery funding to prevent a piece of Dundee’s maritime history from rotting away.
Taymara is hoping to secure the money to carry out repairs to the North Carr Lightship which is moored in Victoria Dock at City Quay.
The ship, which was based off Fife Ness to warn mariners of the dangers of the North Carr rocks, was built in 1952 and entered service the following year.
The ship is inextricably linked to the darkest day in Dundee’s seafaring past as the cause of the loss of the Mona lifeboat and her eight crew in 1959.
The Mona, Broughty Ferry’s lifeboat, was sent to aid the North Carr after it had broken free of its moorings in St Andrew’s Bay.
As the rescuers battled to reach the lightship all of the men perished in the severe storms battering the area.
Dundee’s third historic ship, which was decommissioned in 1975, is a rusting hulk but there are plans to turn it into a tourist attraction alongside RRS Discovery and HMS Unicorn.
Bob Richmond, chairman of Taymara, said: “It’s been very difficult to get funding.
“The work will cost about £1.2 million and we are in the midst of preparing a bid for £1 million of National Lottery funding.
“If we get the money it would take between four to six months to do the work as we are going to blitz the ship.
“It’s an important part of the area’s maritime heritage and it needs to be repaired in the next few years.”
The hull and open deck areas are the most badly damaged after they were exposed to the ravages of the North Sea for 42 years.
If the funding bid is successful it is hoped to be able use the repair work to provide training opportunities for people in areas such as metal blasting.
Talks have been held between Dundee City Council and HMS Unicorn in relation to the work to the red painted ship.
It was believed that £1 million of funding for repairs had been secured four years ago from oil company ConocoPhillips, but this fell through.
Six years ago £55,000 of funding was spent on work to restore the 250-ton steel and iron vessel’s superstructure.
