The Cutty Sark was scheduled to reopen to the public at the end of last month following major conservation work since it was badly damaged by fire in May 2007.
Visitors will be able to walk underneath the 140-year-old tea clipper, which is suspended three metres above the bottom of the dry dock in Greenwich.
But the cost of the restoration project has risen from £35m to £50m, with the scheduled completion put back from summer 2010.
Richard Doughty, chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, said: “The Cutty Sark conservation project has been very complex. Unlike a conventional new-build scheme, the project team has had to contend with a large number of unknowns, such as the extent of corrosion in inaccessible areas of the ship.”
He added that bad weather during the winter of 2010 had further delayed the project.
“Cashflow restrictions have also compounded the delay because it has not always been possible to undertake work as quickly as we would have liked,” said Doughty.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) contributed £25m towards the scheme, including an additional “uplift” £10m grant awarded in January 2008.
In a significant move, the HLF previously commissioned an independent costs review into the project.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provided £5m towards the project, Greenwich Council contributed £7m and the London Development Agency gave £1m. The rest of the £50m budget came from trusts, foundations, individual patrons and the public.
The Ofer Foundation also gave £3.8m, and the new space beneath the ship has been named the Sammy Ofer Gallery, after the shipping magnate.
Doughty added, meanwhile, that the police report published by Scotland Yard concluded that the most likely cause of the fire five years ago was a dust extractor.
Asked if he would be taking legal action against Heery, the construction management company then in charge of the site, Doughty said that the trust had taken advice from its lawyers.
Visitors will be able to walk underneath the 140-year-old tea clipper, which is suspended three metres above the bottom of the dry dock in Greenwich.
But the cost of the restoration project has risen from £35m to £50m, with the scheduled completion put back from summer 2010.
Richard Doughty, chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, said: “The Cutty Sark conservation project has been very complex. Unlike a conventional new-build scheme, the project team has had to contend with a large number of unknowns, such as the extent of corrosion in inaccessible areas of the ship.”
He added that bad weather during the winter of 2010 had further delayed the project.
“Cashflow restrictions have also compounded the delay because it has not always been possible to undertake work as quickly as we would have liked,” said Doughty.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) contributed £25m towards the scheme, including an additional “uplift” £10m grant awarded in January 2008.
In a significant move, the HLF previously commissioned an independent costs review into the project.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provided £5m towards the project, Greenwich Council contributed £7m and the London Development Agency gave £1m. The rest of the £50m budget came from trusts, foundations, individual patrons and the public.
The Ofer Foundation also gave £3.8m, and the new space beneath the ship has been named the Sammy Ofer Gallery, after the shipping magnate.
Doughty added, meanwhile, that the police report published by Scotland Yard concluded that the most likely cause of the fire five years ago was a dust extractor.
Asked if he would be taking legal action against Heery, the construction management company then in charge of the site, Doughty said that the trust had taken advice from its lawyers.