London-based marine engineers Beckett Rankine, involved in the multi-million pound Cutty Sark restoration project, has launched an eleventh-hour bid to save the Carrick.

A firm involved in the multi-million pound Cutty Sark restoration project has launched an eleventh-hour bid to save the Carrick.

London-based marine engineers Beckett Rankine said they believed an affordable solution could be found to save the historic ship - if those responsible were prepared to embrace radical ideas.

Following a report in The Herald yesterday, the engineers have sought a meeting with the Scottish Maritime Museum and others involved with the ship.

Becket Rankine are partners in the structural engineering and conservation work on Cutty Sark, which suffered a serious setback when it was damaged by fire last week.

Transforming the rotting hulk of wood and iron at Irvine into a top-class tourist attraction, returning the ship to a high-profile location, possibly the River Clyde, is thought to be the key to saving the 143-year-old Carrick. Tim Beckett said: "What is needed is a cost-effective and fundable solution which will nevertheless provide sufficient wow factor to attract healthy visitor numbers to sustain the completed project. We believe there are solutions that could meet these requirements."

Potential solutions, he said, would cost far less than the £25m needed for Cutty Sark and probably less than the £10m previously stated.

Mr Beckett added: "The Carrick story is extremely depressing. The solutions that are being adopted for the Cutty Sark are not appropriate. The first thing is to agree on an idea that people will travel to see. Then there has to be a fundraising campaign.

"I would like to sit down with the people dealing with the Carrick. We don't think they have explored all the options. We think there are much cheaper options than what would have been considered. We would not have come up with these ideas had it not been for the Cutty Sark experience."

Officials at the Scottish Maritime Museum, where the Carrick lies, gave the offer a mixed welcome. They said the timescale would be tight and any programme would need to be identified, agreed and sufficient cash raised quickly.

The next meeting on the de-construction of the ship is planned for July, where options will be discussed.

Jim Tildesley, adviser to the museum on the Carrick and a former museum director, welcomed the interest and said any feasible solutions would be considered: "If there are fundable solutions to get the museum out of its problem and the vessel from the slipway, we would like to hear about it."

Museum trust chairman Sam Galbraith was less hopeful: "The museum is continuing with plans for deconstruction. If someone wants to come with large sums of money and take over responsibility we would look at that.

"This has been going on for 15 years and no-one has ever delivered a penny, and it has threatened the existence of the museum. The professional opinion we have had is deconstruction is the only option."