Posted May 21, 200718 yr Fire on Cutty Sark 'suspicious' The site of the Cutty Sark fire Enlarge Image A fire which severely damaged the famous 19th Century ship Cutty Sark is being treated as suspicious by police. The ship, which was undergoing a major restoration project, is kept in a dry dock at Greenwich in south-east London. An area around the 138-year-old tea clipper had to be evacuated when the fire broke out in the early hours. A Cutty Sark Trust spokesman said 50% of the ship was removed for restoration work. He said the trust was devastated but it could have been worse. Charred planking The decks of the ship are said to be unsalvageable. But much of the boat, including the masts, had already been taken away as part of the restoration project. Chris Livett, chairman of Cutty Sark Enterprises, speaking at the scene, said: "We had removed 50% of the planking, so 50% of the planking wasn't on site and that's safe and secure. "And from where I stand there is not a huge amount of damage to the planking that was left on. "There are pockets of charred planking and some have gone, but it doesn't look as bad as first envisaged." Police are analysing CCTV images which are thought to show people in the area shortly before the fire started. Insp Bruce Middlemiss, from the Metropolitan Police, said detectives were looking into the possibility that the fire had been started deliberately and would like to speak to some people seen in the area last night. "There is indication that there were people in the area at the time when the fire initially started, that's come from the local borough CCTV," he said. "There's no indication at this stage that the people that are on that CCTV footage are actually involved in the incident, but may merely be witnesses." However, a spokesman for London Fire Brigade said it was "pure speculation" to say the the cause of the fire was suspicious. He added: "Once the fire is out, we will send our fire investigators in to establish what started it." Firefighters were called to the scene at 0445 BST and the flames were put out by 0700 BST. Speaking to BBC News, the chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, Richard Doughty, said: "When you lose original fabric, you lose the touch of the craftsman, you lose history itself. "And 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." Mr Doughty described the ship as the epitome of speed under sail. The Cutty Sark left London on her maiden voyage on 16 February 1870, sailing around Cape 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 WWII, and in 1951 was moored in London for the Festival of Britain. Shortly afterwards, she was acquired by the Cutty Sark Society. The Cutty Sark is the world's oldest surviving tea clipper The ship was undergoing a £25m renovation and was closed to visitors. The conservation work was being carried out because sea salt had accelerated the corrosion of her iron framework. The fire at the Cutty Sark may mean only one clipper from the same period is left intact. The City of Adelaide, built in 1864 to carry passengers and currently at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Ayrshire, also combines a cast iron frame with a wooden hull. Dr Eric Kentley, curatorial consultant to the Cutty Sark Trust, said of the ship: "It can be saved. It's certainly not completely devastated. "We will put her back together - but it's going to take much much longer and a lot more money than we originally thought." Source - BBC News ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :o :o Well, okay, it may be "only a boat" or whatever, but this is pretty fukkin' shocking... If it does turn out to be vandals who did this, just what is the fukkin' mentality of these scum....? Do we really have this little regard for our own history....?
May 21, 200718 yr although i love history, im not that concerned about this tragedy... maybe i should be..
May 21, 200718 yr I only just found out about this :o It's disgusting if it was arson ... as you said Scott, I can't believe people would have so much disregard for our heritage and history.
May 21, 200718 yr If it is arson then the culprits should be given a history lesson and thrown in the stocks for a day, and we can ALL throw rotten fruit at them <_<
May 21, 200718 yr If it is arson then the culprits should be given a history lesson and thrown in the stocks for a day, and we can ALL throw rotten fruit at them <_< off with their heads more like :angry:
May 21, 200718 yr If it is arson then the culprits should be given a history lesson and thrown in the stocks for a day, and we can ALL throw rotten fruit at them <_< Would prefer to have the ancient tradition of shooting the f***ers through the eye with bows and arrows
May 21, 200718 yr If it was arson I think it's truly disgusting. I'm an absolute history buff. It's just sad. :(
May 21, 200718 yr It's an absolute tragedy, and doubtless it was done by a group of brainless ASBOs in an attempt to impress their mates :manson: Words cannot describe how much I despair for this country when things like this happen :(
May 21, 200718 yr Author although i love history, im not that concerned about this tragedy... maybe i should be.. I'm a bit surprised at your reply to be honest mate, after all you're the one who goes on about British culture and heritage being under attack... This is a very literal example of OUR heritage being the victim of an attack... I mean, Greenwich is an extraordinarily beautiful part of London, almost like a village in the heart of a city, steeped in history and heritage and for this to happen is frankly just as bad as someone chucking a firebomb into St Pauls or someone chucking acid over a great work of art... The ship managed to survive Hitler's blitz ffs, and now to be practically destroyed by a bunch of little ASBO fukkers..... <_< <_< It's the sheer mindlessness of it all that I find so utterly depressing.... Just what have we in Britain become that we would do this to something that belongs to our past... Would you see an Italian try to destroy the Sistine Chapel or Michealangelo's statue of David...?
May 22, 200718 yr Everytime I drink cheap ass Cutty Sark scotch I'll remember :( That hardly looks like it could be renovated... :(
May 22, 200718 yr it will be renovated as many parts werent even on that site. strange that a fire should happen when they were short of funds!
May 22, 200718 yr Author strange that a fire should happen when they were short of funds! Hmmm, a "conspiracy theory" Rob....? :lol: I doubt whether funds would be a problem with the tourist season coming up....
May 22, 200718 yr I agree, I don't really think it's an insurance thing ... if they did do it on purpose, it just means they'll have to spend more money putting it right (although, yes, some of it would be covered by insurance etc) and spend more time when, as Scott said, they could be taking of the tourist season to make more money.
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