After the blaze, which lasted nearly two hours, forensic tests were carried out by investigators from the MPS, the London Fire Brigade, the Forensic Science Service and the Cutty Sark Trust’s insurers. They were unable to establish the cause of the fire.
In an appeal for more information yesterday, Detective Chief Inspector Dave Garwood, who has been leading the investigation, commented:
“Whilst at this stage the results of the forensic examination were inconclusive, we will be considering any further technical or scientific methods we might pursue to establish the cause of the fire.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, CCTV is one of the major leads the force are following in their investigation. Over 100 hours of footage have been collected from the area surrounding the ship from both public and private sources.
The MPS have now allocated extra resources for the investigation, which was set up by Greenwich CID.