A blazing fire ravaged the Cutty Sark, causing extensive damage to the world's last remaining tea clipper and one of Britain's most important maritime treasures. Residents in Greenwich, south-east London, where the 19th century ship has been in dry dock since the 1950s, described hearing an explosion at around 4:45 am. The vessel, which was undergoing a £25m restoration, is kept in a dry dock at Greenwich in south-east London. The ship was undergoing conservation work because sea salt had accelerated the corrosion of her iron framework.
A fire which swept through the famous 19th Century ship Cutty Sark may have been started deliberately, police say. Police are analysing CCTV images which are thought to show people in the area shortly before the fire started.
The ship had been removed for restoration and the damage could have been worse. Half the planking and the masts had been taken away as part of the project. So, there is not a huge amount of damage to the planking that was left on. What is special about Cutty Sark is the timbers, the iron frames that went to the South China Seas, and to think that that is threatened in any way is unbelievable, it's an unimaginable shock.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 04:45 BST and the flames were put out by 07:00 BST. An area around the 138-year-old tea clipper had to be evacuated during the blaze.
The Cutty Sark left London on her maiden voyage on 16 February 1870, sailing around The Cape of Good Hope to Shanghai in three-and-a-half months. She made eight journeys to China as part of the tea trade until steam ships replaced sail on the high seas. The ship was later used for training naval cadets during World War II, and in 1951 was moored in London for the Festival of Britain. Shortly afterwards, she was acquired by the Cutty Sark Society.
