Cutty Sark restoration work to be opened for public viewing

One of Britains greatest maritime attractions, the Cutty Sark, will be opened to show off the beginnings of restoration work which had to be restarted after historic tea clipper was gutted by fire six months ago.

London, Nov 21 : One of Britain's greatest maritime attractions, the Cutty Sark, will be opened to show off the beginnings of restoration work which had to be restarted after historic tea clipper was gutted by fire six months ago.

Though it was initially thought that most of the ship had been destroyed in the blaze, it later emerged only 2 percent of the original fabric had been lost.

At the time of the incident, a quarter of the initial 24 million pounds restoration work had been completed. Now however, the project will need an additional 9 million pounds. The 2009 deadline has also been extended by a year.

Richard Doughty, project director and chief executive of The Cutty Sark Trust, warned that the restoration work was under threat.

"We will not be able to complete the work unless we raise significant additional funds very soon and we are looking to corporations and businesses to help us," the Daily Express quoted him, as saying.

The Cutty Sark was gutted in blaze on May 21 this year.

Fire fighters took several hours to control the blaze in Greenwich, southeast London where the historic ship has been dry-docked since 1954.

Initial reports said 80 per cent of the structure had been damaged or destroyed and there are particular concerns the iron framework has sustained irreparable damage.

The 137-year-old vessel was to undergo a massive restoration courtesy a whopping 12 million pound grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Fifty percent of the ship had been previously removed as part of the renovation process.

Designed by Hercules Linton and built in 1869 by Scott and Linton of Dumbarton, Scotland, the Cutty Sark set sail on November 23 that same year.

Since 1954 she was preserved as a museum ship, and was a popular tourist attraction. However, the site had been closed since 2006 and is due to open again to the public in 2009.

Cutty Sark is also preserved in literature in Hart Crane's long poem "The Bridge", published 22in 1930.

ANI