Six months after a fire ravaged one of Britain's most historic ships, reporter MICHAEL REILLY takes a look at the restoration efforts.

ON MAY 21, the 19th-century Cutty Sark was almost destroyed in an arson attack.

Amazingly, only an estimated five per cent of the original fabric of the world's only surviving extreme clipper has been lost, according to the Cutty Sark Trust.

Catastrophic damage was averted by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) directing water to the heart of the fire in the hours following the outbreak of the blaze.

Investigations by the LFB and Met police have since proved inconclusive as the cause of the fire has failed to be established.

No-one has yet been arrested or charged.

Cutty Sark Trust communications director Stephen Archer says the trust has raised £20m towards the original £25m cost of the conservation work.

The Lottery has provided £13m, while £6m has been generated from private donations and £1m has been raised from the public appeal.

But the fire has added a further £10m and an extra nine months to the project. Mr Archer says work will now be completed by 2010.

He said: "There is a £15m shortfall at the moment.

"It's great what we have raised so far and I hope the public appeal will generate more.

"There is a perception with the public because we didn't lose the ship, we don't need the funds to keep the project going.

"We need this money and we need it as soon as possible.

"However, things are on track.

"I'm confident we can do it on the budget."

He added: "To lose less than five per cent of it is remarkable.

"We were very fortunate we removed half of it before the fire."

The blaze on board the 138-year-old tea clipper broke out at around 4.45am and the flames, which reached 30ft into the air, were put out by 7am.

Eight fire engines and 40 firefighters were called to the ship to tackle the inferno.

Police analysed CCTV images which were believed to show people in the area shortly before the fire started.

A silver car was also seen leaving the area near to where the boat was based in dry dock in King William Walk, Greenwich.

Last month, the Cutty Sark Trust's team of experts conducted a full condition survey of the structure of the ship.

A Met police spokesman said: "We are still examining technical and scientific methods to establish any potential fire sources, and CCTV is still being examined in detail.

"The interviewing of the contractors has commenced.

"This is a lengthy process due to the number of staff involved."

  • The iron framework is not thought to have been affected.
  • Thirty-two of the 261 planks were charred and will be restored.
  • The Tween Deck, where formal dinners were held, was completely lost and will be replaced. This was a 1920s replacement and not original.
  • The False Lower Deck was also destroyed but this will not be replaced as it was not an original feature.