SHE'S a nostalgic reminder of a golden age of Southampton's shipping history.

For the past four years the tug tender Calshot has sat quietly in a corner of Southampton's waterfront, patiently waiting to be restored to her former glory.

But time may be running out for the unique vessel after maintenance checks revealed her hull was taking in water.

Now the race is on to find a way of ensuring the tug can be restored.

Experts believe the vessel, currently berthed at ABP's Berth 42, should be safe until next year, though a particularly harsh winter would lead to the threat of her sinking.

The tug has worked alongside some of the world's greatest ships in past decades, including Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.

She was launched at Vosper Thornycroft in Woolston in 1929 and was certified to carry 566 passengers, even featuring first and second class saloons.

But for the past 15 years the tug has been a shadow of her former glory. She returned to the city in 1986, having spent the previous 20 years based in Galway as a ferry, as part of a plan to display her at a mooted Maritime Museum in Ocean Village.

Council chiefs predict it would cost about £1m for a complete restoration and are hoping National Lottery funding will provide most of the cash.

City-based TV producer Terry Yarwood set up the Tug Tender Calshot Trust in 1997 after stumbling across the vessel while making a promotional film for ABP.

"They said why not include something about the Calshot," said Mr Yarwood.

"I knew nothing about it so I went to see it in the council's yard, but it was in a terrible state.

"There were broken windows, all the varnish had come off and doors were hanging off.

"I thought it was disgusting that it was allowed to be treated like that.

"So I asked the council if we could set up a trust and they helped finance it, so we are partners.

"We started work in April 1997 and it has been an uphill task ever since.

"We have made steady progress though and in the current year we have been able to carry out more work than we ever have done before."

The trust has a team of six volunteers who work tirelessly on the tug, and students from Eastleigh College and Warsash Maritime College have also offered their help as part of learning projects.

But the volunteers' worst fears are that the vessel will be sold off and taken out of the city or even scrapped because of the now urgent need to repair the hull over sinking fears.

Calshot was the largest tug tender built for Red Funnel and often carried world famous film stars and celebrities.

During the Second World War, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth carried some 1,500,000 servicemen.

Queen Mary crossed the Atlantic 86 times, while Calshot went north to the Clyde and ferried troops to and from both liners. She returned to Red Funnel after the war, before being sold to a subsidiary of Holland American Line and renamed Galway Bay and used as a ferry.

Councillor Peter Wakeford, Cabinet member for leisure, culture and tourism, said the council was committed to saving the tug but had to look at all possible options, including scrapping it or selling it on.

It has long been hoped Calshot would be one of the main attractions for the city's proposed Heritage Centre, which is currently the subject of a feasibility study.

Cllr Wakeford said: "It is a unique vessel. We want to try to save the Calshot but we have to balance what needs to be done not only against the cost of that work but also against other pressures on the council.

"The main issue is how long we can leave Calshot on the water. The information that has been given to us is that it will be OK until 2004 if we don't get a severe winter.

"We need to look at all the options at getting it out of the water and on to land, which isn't easy as there are few places in Southampton it can go."

For details on joining the trust's membership, which costs £15 for adults and £8 for children, telephone 023 8077 4717.