Fire damages historic ship

GREENWICH – Technology, rot and now fire have caught up with the Cutty Sark, the graceful clipper ship built in the 19th century to speed fresh tea from China to Britain’s tables.

After a quick look at the charred hull, custodians of the world’s only surviving tea clipper said on Monday it could still be made as good as new – by adding millions more to a restoration project already costing US$50 million. “With my naked eye, as far as I have been able to see, the structure of the ship seems to be intact,” Cutty Sark Trust Chief Executive Richard Doughty said.Firefighters battled the blaze for more than two hours after responding to a 4h45 am alarm at the ship’s dry dock next to the National Maritime Museum.The cause of the blaze was under investigation.At midmorning, as firefighters put out the final hot spots, Ian Bell, the restoration’s technical director, climbed into the ship’s bulwark to assess the damage.The bow and stern were intact.Most of the teak wood had been removed to give restorers access to the ship’s iron frame.The iron held its shape in the fire, and in the lower decks, the few timbers that had not been removed were charred but suffered mostly superficial damage.”A lot of the original material has been saved,” Bell told reporters, his cheeks covered in soot.”The initial investigation suggests it could be a lot worse.”The ship’s masts, saloon and most of its wood planks were safely in storage at the time of the fire.Officials responsible for the sailing ship said they were determined to carry on with the four-year restoration project.”We’re going to redouble our efforts to ensure that the ship is open, available, back and running in the future,” said Chris Livett, chairman of Cutty Sark Enterprises.”I think when we finish with this project, she will be better than she was.”Police Inspector Bruce Middlemiss said investigators were treating the fire as suspicious but “there is no evidence or intelligence to lead us to think this was an arson.”Surveillance cameras showed several people in the area at the time the fire started, but there was no indication that any had been involved in igniting it.Dogs from the police arson investigation unit were taken to the site.The Cutty Sark, which inspired a popular brand of Scotch, was the world’s only surviving example of an extreme clipper, regarded as the ultimate merchant sailing vessel.The ship is drydocked in Greenwich, where the River Thames widens into an estuary before joining the North Sea.Nampa-AP”With my naked eye, as far as I have been able to see, the structure of the ship seems to be intact,” Cutty Sark Trust Chief Executive Richard Doughty said.Firefighters battled the blaze for more than two hours after responding to a 4h45 am alarm at the ship’s dry dock next to the National Maritime Museum.The cause of the blaze was under investigation.At midmorning, as firefighters put out the final hot spots, Ian Bell, the restoration’s technical director, climbed into the ship’s bulwark to assess the damage.The bow and stern were intact.Most of the teak wood had been removed to give restorers access to the ship’s iron frame.The iron held its shape in the fire, and in the lower decks, the few timbers that had not been removed were charred but suffered mostly superficial damage.”A lot of the original material has been saved,” Bell told reporters, his cheeks covered in soot.”The initial investigation suggests it could be a lot worse.”The ship’s masts, saloon and most of its wood planks were safely in storage at the time of the fire.Officials responsible for the sailing ship said they were determined to carry on with the four-year restoration project.”We’re going to redouble our efforts to ensure that the ship is open, available, back and running in the future,” said Chris Livett, chairman of Cutty Sark Enterprises.”I think when we finish with this project, she will be better than she was.”Police Inspector Bruce Middlemiss said investigators were treating the fire as suspicious but “there is no evidence or intelligence to lead us to think this was an arson.”Surveillance cameras showed several people in the area at the time the fire started, but there was no indication that any had been involved in igniting it.Dogs from the police arson investigation unit were taken to the site.The Cutty Sark, which inspired a popular brand of Scotch, was the world’s only surviving example of an extreme clipper, regarded as the ultimate merchant sailing vessel.The ship is drydocked in Greenwich, where the River Thames widens into an estuary before joining the North Sea.Nampa-AP