Cutty Sark - latest news
Cutty Sark Supporters
Emergency Briefing 22 May 2007
Introduction
In the early hours of the morning on 21 May, a fire broke out at the Cutty Sark Conservation Project site in Greenwich, London. The London Fire Brigade arrived at 4.45am and had put out the fire out by 06.28am.
The ship was undergoing a major conservation project which was a quarter of the way through. Everyone involved in the project is devastated but we are committed, now more than ever, to turning this setback round and saving this most iconic of ships.
A task force meeting was held this morning to plan the recovery of the ship. Detail planning will take place on Thursday with our partners.
The ship remains a crime scene and the police investigation continues.
As of today, the Cutty Sark Trust is appealing to supporters across the world to help raise the millions of pounds needed to save the world's most famous tea clipper. We thank our key partners for their investment in a shared vision; the Cutty Sark Trust is doing its utmost to do justice to that commitment. We ask our partners to support us at the time of need and to continue with us on our journey towards making our vision of literally lifting the Cutty Sark into the 21st century a reality.
Damage
Our consultants have confirmed that the ship is stable. We have lost the main deck and the 'tween deck. There may be further damage to the lower hold, but we have not been able to make a full inspection of this area yet although planks from the hull are very substantial and much of it seems to have suffered just surface charring. Some of the plates on the bulwarks seem to have buckled but this is not a critical factor. Our real concern is the iron framework of the hull; if this has distorted significantly this will cause several problems.
First, it will make it difficult to refix the planks which have been removed from the ship for the conservation process. Secondly, the conservation plan for the ship is to suspend her from the dry berth and insert an internal framework to strengthen her. This of course relies on very precise measurements. If the framework has distorted, this work will have to be re-done and possibly structures remade. Thirdly and most importantly, it will distort the shape of the ship – and the shape of Cutty Sark is her single most significant aspect. Until we do the precise measurements we will not know.
However, because the conservation process is already a quarter through, the ship had been completely stripped out. The masts and spars, the deckhouses, the beautifully panelled master's saloon and the figurehead collection (the largest collection in the world) are all safely stored off-site.
The visitor centre adjacent to the ship, which contains exhibits such as the original figurehead and parts of the master's saloon, has only superficial damage to its cover and none of the artefacts inside have been damaged.
Insurance
The ship is insured as a matter of course, and as required by our major grant funder, the Heritage Lottery Fund (£13m). We are in full liaison with the insurance companies to ensure that correct claims procedures are followed.
Cost
Until we have access to the site to undertake a full survey of the ship, we cannot make a realistic estimate of the additional cost to the project that the fire has caused. The Cutty Sark Conservation Project is a £25m project –this is bound to rise. It costs £60,000 a week to run the project, so a delay of even a few days is significant to us. It is not just work on the site that is affected –around the country there are steel fabricators, glass manufacturers and so on all working to a timetable that clearly we are not going to meet.
Delay
Until we have been able to make a full assessment of the damage, we cannot realistically estimate the additional time that will be added to the project. We had hoped to complete the project by the end of 2008, but today it seems that we will miss this date by at least several months.
The cause
The Police and Fire Brigade are investigating so it is fruitless to speculate at this moment; a preliminary forensic investigation was carried out this morning by the London police. There were no works on the site since Saturday morning, and even so, very little 'hot work' was taking place. The conservation team was primarily concentrating on plank removal and building tanks for the electrolysis treatment of the framework.
Next steps for the Conservation Team
We hope that the investigation will be complete in the next couple of days and we will be able to undertake a full survey of the damage. This will involve the structural engineers checking the structure for distortions and dimensional change. Essentially, the scope of the project has now enlarged
We have identified our priorities as resolving:
- Controlling access on the site
- New temporary scaffolding roof over the ship, supported from the dry berth edge, to be erected
- Installation of crash nets under the ship
- Consolidation of planks and off-site conservation
- Erection limited catwalks to facilitate specialist inspection
- Production of method statements for surveys with an emphasis on checking movement in the ship.
- Production of a visual inspection report and mapping out series of steps to ascertain full extent of the damage for issue to the insurers
Key questions to be addressed by survey:
- How much has she been distorted?
- To what extent are the deck beams damaged?
- How have the rivets come through the fire and how the joints have performed in the fire)?
- Full understanding of damage to the frame – remaining strakes will be kept in place to hold the ship's lines when she is lifted.
Key Outcomes:
- A review of the electrolysis approach
- Assessment of amount of wrought iron requiring replacement
- Assessment of amount of timber to be replaced
- New chloride tests
- Strategy for dealing with wet planks
- Increased security and fire detection.
- Assessment of opportunities to revisit the design eg concealing the ties running across the ship within the new 'tween deck.
Fundraising and PR
The Trust has raised £18m to date towards a £25m restoration of the ship. To address the cost/delay issues of the fire to our programme, we are putting into immediate effect an emergency public fundraising appeal working with key partners in the media such as the London Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraph, Capital Radio FM, and following up the many offers of support that are pouring in from the public.
The Cutty Sark website capacity to handle the hits has been put into place and this offers full details including online giving both via the website and a number of other online services.
We will be working to approach key sectors in business, industry and private wealth to secure the major gifts that are needed to close the widened funding gap. This has started already with offers from the international yachting community including a pledge of £100,000.
We have been assisted hugely by extensive coverage by the UK and world's press, radio, broadcast and online media which has only gone to reinforce how much the Cutty Sark is loved and valued. We will do all we can to capitalise on this huge momentum of goodwill.
Three press releases have gone out to date detailing the situation, today's visit by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and the need for funds to save the Cutty Sark. We have been helped by press release support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other partners along with the site visit yesterday of the Minister for the Department of Culture, Media and Sports.
Richard Doughty, Chief Executive, Cutty Sark Trust