Cutty Sark fire

[Raesene]

BBC

I hope they restore her, according to a radio interview snip I heard they had a lot off-site due to the reconstruction work going on

[Big Orange]

It's sad to see such heritage go up in flames - word is the fire may have been started on purpose.

[Zed Snardbody]

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 removed as part of the restoration work.

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 at about 0500 BST.

Inspector Bruce Middlemiss from the Metropolitan police said detectives were looking into the possibility that the fire was deliberately started 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."

Speaking to BBC News, the chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, Richard Doughty, said he feared what would be lost in the blaze.

"When you lose original fabric, you lose the touch of the craftsman, you lose history itself," he said.

"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."

He said the ship would be "irreplaceable".

He added that the Cutty Sark was not just an important part of maritime heritage but an important part of British identity.

Mr Doughty described the ship as the epitome of speed under sail.

An eyewitness, who saw the fire as she was driving across the Thames, said: "I can see all this smoke billowing out from round by where the Cutty Sark is.

"It was black, thick black smoke... as I've come over the bridge there's all police cars blocking the road and everyone's being diverted."

Residents living near the ship were evacuated from their homes and taken to a Greenwich hotel, Scotland Yard confirmed.

The ship was undergoing £25m renovation works and was closed to visitors.

The conservation work was being carried out as sea salt had accelerated the corrosion of her iron framework.

Quote the bloody article.

[LadyTevar]

Sad to say, the only place I knew the Cutty Sark from is a brand of blended scotch.

Could someone have set her on fire for insurance?

[Bounty]

If over 50% of her planking is salvageable, there's a good chance she'll be rebuilt. At least I hope that's what they'll do - she's too important to just be forgotten.

[Raesene]

If over 50% of her planking is salvageable, there's a good chance she'll be rebuilt. At least I hope that's what they'll do - she's too important to just be forgotten.

If the trust has enough reserves to finance the rebuilt.

Could someone have set her on fire for insurance?

I don´t think so, because no person (I`d expect) would get the money and the trust would loose what it its reason to exist. If it was arson, the person responsible should be flogged around the fleet.

[Cao Cao]

I'll bet it was something as simple as some retard dumping a cigarette near something flammable on the ship.

[Big Orange]

If over 50% of her planking is salvageable, there's a good chance she'll be rebuilt. At least I hope that's what they'll do - she's too important to just be forgotten.

Or they could build an almost complete replica with a few token surviving components, although I wonder why they never rebuilt the Crystal Palace when that burned down to the ground in the 1930s.

I'll bet it was something as simple as some retard dumping a cigarette near something flammable on the ship.

It would be grimly ironic if that dumb retard was one of workers renovating the Snark...

[Jade Falcon]

The only near bright spot in this is that the future of the former City of Adelaide now known as the Carrick that is sitting hulked in Irvine Maritime Museum might be more assured.

[Bounty]

Or they could build an almost complete replica with a few token surviving components, although I wonder why they never rebuilt the Crystal Palace when that burned down to the ground in the 1930s.

The bow, stern and masts are undamaged, as are over half of the hull planks. Preliminary inspection of her frame suggests that she is still structurally intact. The rebuilt ship will still be the Cutty Sark, not a replica.

I'll bet it was something as simple as some retard dumping a cigarette near something flammable on the ship.

It's being treated as arson and there are witness reports of suspicious activity around the ship. While an accident is possible, it seems a bit unlikely.

[Frank Hipper]

I'll bet it was something as simple as some retard dumping a cigarette near something flammable on the ship.

I'd bet it was something as simple as arson.

[Col. Crackpot]

Sad to say, the only place I knew the Cutty Sark from is a brand of blended scotch.

Could someone have set her on fire for insurance?

I'm sad to admit I thought this thread was about thousands of gallons of burning scotch... Though that would be equally as sad.

[Durandal]

Indeed. Good to know that the scotch will still be on the shelves.

[Sea Skimmer]

Or they could build an almost complete replica with a few token surviving components, although I wonder why they never rebuilt the Crystal Palace when that burned down to the ground in the 1930s.

The building wasn’t adequately covered by fire insurance and the Great Depression was ongoing. Plus since it was only 80 years old at the time, anyone intent on rebuilding would probably have aimed for a more modern and grand structure then even the original. I don’t think directly preserving history was seen as very important at the time.


As for this fire, arson is very likely, and it would not be the first time its destroyed a historical ship. I recall a case in Alaska when random asshole vandels burned a pair of huge wooden steamboats preserved from the Yukon gold rush.

[Hillary]

Could someone have set her on fire for insurance?

Just some random yoooves I suspect. Greenwich, despite being upmarket, has its fair share of dodgy estates.

[Big Orange]

It's being treated as arson and there are witness reports of suspicious activity around the ship. While an accident is possible, it seems a bit unlikely.

What sort of worthless prickstain or prickstains would want to torch a historical ship for a cheap laugh? There's a growing realization that today's kids are getting progressively worse and more Chavier.

[Jade Falcon]

It's being treated as arson and there are witness reports of suspicious activity around the ship. While an accident is possible, it seems a bit unlikely.

What sort of worthless prickstain or prickstains would want to torch a historical ship for a cheap laugh? There's a growing realization that today's kids are getting progressively worse and more Chavier.

Well considering that at the same time a bunch of neds vandalised a war memorial to steal the brass plaques to sell, do you really need to ask?

The Isle of Man used to have a way of dealing with vandals. I was in the Isle of Man in 1979, this was the time Lord Mountbatten got blown up along with a convoy of Paras getting ambushed. There was pro-IRA graffiti sprayed on the walls in some part. The vandals were birched, made to clean it off, THEN thrown off the island.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Well considering that at the same time a bunch of neds vandalised a war memorial to steal the brass plaques to sell, do you really need to ask?

The Isle of Man used to have a way of dealing with vandals. I was in the Isle of Man in 1979, this was the time Lord Mountbatten got blown up along with a convoy of Paras getting ambushed. There was pro-IRA graffiti sprayed on the walls in some part. The vandals were birched, made to clean it off, THEN thrown off the island.

Via catapult, I hope. It really is a sign of the times when some punk kid thinks desecrating something that holds significance for all Britons is somehow a good idea.

[Cao Cao]

Vandals are just idiots. If there's anything nice on public display, they'll try to break it. Historical or not.
Around where I live there used to be a nice stone fountain and garden along with drinking fountains and statues in the local park. Bit by bit, asswipes destroyed it all. Graffiti, stealing bits and pieces, smashing stuff, you name it.

[Jade Falcon]

Via catapult, I hope. It really is a sign of the times when some punk kid thinks desecrating something that holds significance for all Britons is somehow a good idea.

By the first boat out, but now that the IoM is part of the EU, although Britains speaks for them the Human Rights side has forced them to ditch the birch.

[Admiral Valdemar]

By the first boat out, but now that the IoM is part of the EU, although Britains speaks for them the Human Rights side has forced them to ditch the birch.

Imperium of Man? Oh, Isle of Man. Yeah, I know they're a wacky bunch. Two of my flatmates at Lancaster were Manx. Funny people.

[Big Orange]

You know corporal punishment would work well against Chav idiots and banning the cain in school was perhaps a mistake; the Duchess of Zeon has a similar proposition about corporal punishment and that conventional prison often makes things worse.

[Raesene]

You know corporal punishment would work well against Chav idiots and banning the cain in school was perhaps a mistake; the Duchess of Zeon has a similar proposition about corporal punishment and that conventional prison often makes things worse.

They'd just have a new 'badge of honour' and brag of how much they can take. Better to reintroduce things similar to chain gangs where they have to sweep streets etc. Could that be labelled as community service ?

[Jade Falcon]

You know corporal punishment would work well against Chav idiots and banning the cain in school was perhaps a mistake; the Duchess of Zeon has a similar proposition about corporal punishment and that conventional prison often makes things worse.

I think it was certainly something that they didn't just have to clean up the mess they made, it was in addition to the birching and basically getting kicked off (and banned) from the island might have helped.