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Trustees of the tea clipper Cutty Sark are facing a £16 million ($43 million) funding crisis which threatens to put back the restoration of the historic British sailing ship indefinitely unless a rescue package from a major sponsor can be found.
Officials say they have not ruled out painting the vessel with the logo and corporate colours of a donor if it means they can meet the 2010 deadline for the conservation project.
The Cutty Sark was built in 1869 for the tea trade with China. Its unique hull design made it one of the world's fastest ships. It was expected to last around 30 years, but was not taken out of service until 1954, when it became a museum at a dry dock in Greenwich, southeast London, where it has been visited by 16 million people.
But in May, a fire damaged two decks and scorched much of the metal framework. The masts, coach and deck houses and other parts of the 85m clipper had been removed for conservation work, but the fire added an estimated nine months of work and £8 million to £10 million in costs, taking the total bill to £35 million. Only £1 million has been raised since the fire, leaving the project's finances stuck at £19 million.
"There is a risk that at some point in the next 12 months we'll run out of cash," said Stephen Archer, communications director of the trust. "We need cash and we need it now. Some of that will come from insurance, but not all."
Mr Archer hinted that nothing was off limits, apart from the name itself.
- Observer
