APPEALS have been made to help save a piece of Scottish shipping history before it is lost forever.

Harbour officials say it is the "11th hour" for the fishing boat Efficient after it partially sank in December and its owner washed his hands of it.

The 75-foot vessel is one of the first motorised fishing boats ever to take to the waves and was deployed on clandestine missions during Word War II to help the fight against the Nazis after being requisitioned for military service.

It was built to order almost a century ago in Sandhaven, Aberdeenshire, but now lies on its side in the water at Newlyn harbour, near Cornwall, and time is running out before it will have to be broken up for scrap and taken away.

The Efficient was built at a time when the fishing fleet was moving from sail and steam power to modern petrol-driven motors.

It was launched in 1931 by shipbuilder Forbes with the Secretary of State in attendance to demonstrate the effectiveness and value for money of cheaper oil-fired motor boats over the older vessels in the shipping fleet.

It was used as a drift trawler netting herring off the coast of Scotland, before being bought by Steveonsons of Penzance and sailed to England.

During the second World War Efficient, by then re-named 'Excellent', was used in Scotland and legend states it was turned back from sailing to help evacuate troops from Dunkirk to take allied spies to Norway.

After the war it was returned to its owners and stayed in service long enough to become the oldest boat in the UK's fishing fleet, before becoming outdated and left at the quayside.

Last year the Efficient was sold for a pound to a new owner who had hopes of carrying out repairs to get it seaworthy, but the task proved too difficult and he has now abandoned the boat.

Newlyn Harbourmaster Rob Parsons said: "The Efficient was ok up until about December, but now she's gone over on her side and it's getting closer and closer to the point where she'll have to be scrapped.

"It's a real shame because there is a lot of history attached to her and we would love it if someone could come forward to save her.

"But we're responsible for the harbour and she's in such a condition that there's really nothing more than can be done. There's not much time left."

It has been estimated that it could cost thousands to carry out the repairs needed to keep the Efficient afloat, and its fate may be sealed if a wealthy benefactor cannot be found to save her

Historian Richard Wemyss, a trustee of the Scottish Fisheries Museum, said: "The Efficient should be regarded as the mother of the modern fleet because every multi-purpose large motor vessel designed up until the early 2000’s derived from this vessel.

"It is vital that she should not be broken up, and somehow she should be saved."