Serving vessel first in cruel sea about to founder (9)
I believe the answer is:
sauceboat
'serving vessel' is the definition.
'first in cruel sea about to founder' is the wordplay.
'first in' suggests taking the first letters.
'to founder' is an anagram indicator (founder can mean to break or collapse).
The initial letter of 'cruel' is 'c'.
'c'+'sea'+'about'='cseaabout'
'cseaabout' with letters rearranged gives 'SAUCEBOAT'.
I've seen this clue in The Times.
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