WORK on completing the restoration of the world-famous clipper Cutty Sark, after its devastating blaze last year, resumes this week following a huge £3.3 million gift from shipping magnate Sammy Ofer. The philanthropist stepped in last month with cash to secure the future of the world’s most famous sailing ship

WORK on completing the restoration of the world-famous clipper Cutty Sark, after its devastating blaze last year, resumes this week following a huge £3.3 million gift from shipping magnate Sammy Ofer.

The philanthropist stepped in last month with cash to secure the future of the world's most famous sailing ship.

The international icon of the sea, famed for its speed, was already undergoing a major conservation before the fire last summer which swept its dry dock in Greenwich, opposite the Isle of Dogs.

Ofer's donation to the Cutty Sark Trust has closed the 'funding' gap, following the Heritage Lottery's £10 million grant in January.

The full restoration is now going ahead with a total of £23m.

Work on the Cutty Sark, which is at the heart of Maritime Greenwich UN World Heritage site, is expected to be finished early in 2010, when it will be 'floated' 10ft above the bottom of its dry berth.

The space below will become a gallery to show visitors a unique view of the ship's hull and be rededicated as a memorial to the seamen lost at sea during the days of sail and during the two world wars.