(Image: HMS Ambuscade Association)
A last-ditch bid has been launched to save a historic Royal Navy warship which was set to become a museum on Greenock's waterfront.
Campaigners hoping to bring HMS Ambuscade back to the Clyde have appealed directly to Pakistan's Prime Minister after a deadline to remove the vessel from Karachi passed.
The former Royal Navy frigate, which was due to be transformed into a shipbuilding museum beside Greenock's Beacon Arts Centre, now faces the prospect of being destroyed.
Marine charity Clyde Naval Heritage (CNH) had been working to bring the vessel back to Scotland after it was gifted to the organisation by the Pakistan Navy in 2023.
However, plans for the 6,000-mile journey have been thrown into jeopardy after the cost of transporting the ship doubled to around £2 million amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
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The Pakistan Navy had given the charity until September 30 to remove the vessel from Karachi, warning that it could be disposed of if the deadline was missed.
Now, with that deadline having passed, campaigners are making a final attempt to persuade Pakistani authorities to reconsider their decision or grant an extension.
CNH are reported to have written to Pakistan's Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, on September 11, asking for the ship to remain in Karachi until it was safe to arrange transportation.
The charity reportedly received no response and has since escalated its appeal, copying UK and Scottish Government ministers into its correspondence.
David O'Neill, CNH chief executive, had previously revealed plans to berth HMS Ambuscade beside the Beacon Arts Centre and transform her into a cultural attraction celebrating the Clyde's shipbuilding heritage.
The charity had hoped to open the vessel to visitors in time for the 45th anniversary of the Falklands War next year.
Built by Yarrow at Scotstoun in Glasgow, HMS Ambuscade was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1975.
The frigate served during the Falklands War in 1982 before being sold to Pakistan in 1993, where she spent a further three decades in service as PNS Tariq.
She is now the last surviving warship of her class.
Campaigners had previously been seeking £125,000 to fund essential preparation work before the vessel could be towed to Scotland.