A NEAR £700,000 restoration of Dundee’s Antarctic exploration ship RSS Discovery began in earnest yesterday, a project hailed as crucial to save the historic vessel from rotting beyond repair.

The predominantly National Lottery-funded work kicked off at Discovery Point as the ship’s dock was drained to allow conservation experts access to submerged sections of the ship.

The project, to be tackled over two years, will target areas in urgent need of repair.

Experts will replace one section of the hull and treat the remainder to help prevent it being breached by the sea.

Parts of the deck are also to be renovated.

Arbroath boat builders Mackays are the contractors carrying out the work.

Dundee Heritage Trust, which owns Discovery, said the restoration marks a significant milestone in the history of the ship.

The popular tourist attraction brings thousands of visitors to the city every year.

DHT operations director Mark Munsie said securing the long-term future of Discovery was important to the city’s tourist trade.

“A lot of the people who come to Dundee to see the ship are people who wouldn’t otherwise be here,” he said.

“A lot of people don’t like it being here.

“They say none of the people on the ship (for expeditions) were from Dundee and it didn’t return here afterwards. But it is important to the city and is a big part of regeneration.”

Discovery was built by the city’s ship builders at start of the 20th century and set sail from Dundee in spring 1901, later to host Captain Scott’s famous scientific research expedition to Antarctica.

The vessel remains open to the public during the restoration.