The Cutty Sark, a London landmark and the world’s last surviving 19th century tea clipper, was severely damaged in a blaze on Monday.
Flames and thick black smoke shot high into the sky above the dry dock on the banks of the River Thames where the boat has stood as a major tourist attraction for more than 50 years.
Forty firefighters brought the blaze under control. Aerial television pictures showed a mass of charred timbers that was once one of the world’s fastest ships.
”It’s a tragedy. She was the Ferrari of the open seas,” Paddy Pugh, from the conservation body English Heritage, told the BBC. ”It’s one of the genuine icons of London.”
The ship, launched in 1869 on Scotland’s River Clyde to make the run to China for the lucrative tea trade, was undergoing a £25-million ($49,31-million) refurbishment.
The Cutty Sark Trust, the body overseeing the renovation work, said it was still assessing the extent of the damage, but promised to rebuild the ship.
”The old girl needs more help than ever,” the trust’s Chris Livett told a news conference.
”She is a national treasure. With people’s help, I am confident that we will get back on track and get her reopened.”
Half of the ship’s timbers had been removed for renovation before the fire. The masts and ship’s wheel were among the items safely in storage.
No one was injured in the blaze and police said there was no evidence the fire was started deliberately. Security camera footage is being checked and officers appealed for witnesses.
In 1954 the ship, which had been renamed a number of times after becoming a general cargo vessel, finally swapped the high seas for a concrete dry dock in Greenwich, home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Tea clippers were narrow-beamed sailing ship that could make fortunes for their owners if they were first back to London because the first tea cargo of the season could be sold at a premium.
People used to bet on which vessel would win the race and the first sighting of a clipper’s tall masts off the English coast would be major news in the capital.
Originally designed to last just 30 years, the Cutty Sark is a rare construction with a wrought iron frame clad in timber.
Built for the tea trade, it switched to fetching wool from Australia to feed England’s mills when the advent of reliable steamships spelt the end of the age of the sailing clippers.
On the Australia to Britain route the ship regularly recorded the fastest time for the voyage. – Reuters