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by Thomas Colbert in world

The Cutty Sark is a national maritime monument in England. The monument received massive damage to it early this morning.

Firefighters arrived just before 5 a.m. as 30-foot flames and thick black smoke engulfed the storied 19th Century clipper ship. They were able to contain the blaze within 90 minutes, but the ship's deck had already been irreversibly damaged. "She's a national treasure," said Chris Levitt of the Cutty Sark Trust, which is leading a $50-million project to restore one of the world's most famous ships. "Why would someone want to hurt her?"

Of course the vessel is from another era, when timber was used to construct much of the interior of ships. The Cutty Sark was made largely from timber, and much of it has been damaged beyond repair.

The ship has been in the Thames since the 1950s and has been toured by millions. The ship was already being repaired, and this latest setback is bound to add to the costs.

Richard Doughty, project director of the Cutty Sark Conservation Program, estimates that the fire will add millions to the final restoration cost. "This is a huge delay for the conservation project," Doughty said. "Tragically it's going to cost us a lot more now because we're starting at square one."

The fire is currently being treated as "suspicious".

Resource: La Times
Published: Monday 21st of May 2007 02:39:54 PM

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