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Cutty Sark to be restored after fire in Greenwich

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The 19th century Cutty Sark tea clipper will be restored following a fire Monday that caused widespread damage to the famous ship, the chairman of Cutty Sark Enterprises said.
LONDON, May 21 (RIA Novosti) - The 19th century Cutty Sark tea clipper will be restored following a fire Monday that caused widespread damage to the famous ship, the chairman of Cutty Sark Enterprises said.

Chris Livett said the damage was not as bad as he first thought. He said "she is a national treasure," adding that it should be restored and open to the public, "the ship has been through many things in its lifetime."

The fire service was called to the fire on the wooden ship in southeast London early Monday morning, and a London fire brigade spokesman said the fire was in full swing on arrival.

The Cutty Sark had been undergoing an extensive 25 million pound (about $50 million) restoration program due to end in 2009. Half the wooden planking and masts had been removed, which probably saved the ship from complete destruction, although the metal hull has been damaged.

Earlier a Metropolitan police spokesman called the fire "suspicious." And the fire brigade said: "Our fire investigation team is working with the police to establish the cause of the fire."

The area around the ship is fitted with CCTV surveillance equipment, which is currently being examined by police.

The fire has been put out, although the area has been cordoned off, and transport and road traffic has been affected.

The Cutty Sark was built in Dumbarton, near Glasgow in 1869, and was named in honor of a witch from a poem by the Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott.

Initially the ship ferried tea from China to Britain and then wool from Australia. She was placed in dry dock in Greenwich in 1949 and later opened to the public, and had up to 15 million visitors a year from all over the world.

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