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Breakthrough in the painstaking efforts to restore 'Cutty Sark'

When flames engulfed the Cutty Sark last May, it looked initially like a fatal blow had been dealt to the £25m restoration of the historic clipper. But yesterday workers reached a "major milestone" in restoring the vessel.

The ship's counter, a major but fragile part of the stern, was lifted by crane from the wreckage to cheers from construction workers. It will now be subjected to electrolysis treatment and repaired before being reattached to the ship.

"We've successfully moved a 15ft, 8-tonne piece of curved iron which has taken weeks to carefully saw off," said Stephen Archer, of the Cutty Sark Trust. "The consequences of getting it wrong could have been huge, but we got it spot on." Richard Doughty, chief executive of the trust, described it as a "major milestone".
Read entire article at Independent (UK)