Funding question delays clipper plans

PLANS to return the City of Adelaide clipper to her adopted home port have been put on hold because there is no sign yet of the £500,000 towards the cost of the voyage.

The worl d ’s oldest surviving such vessel left Irvine, North Ayrshire, where she had been rotting away for years for Australia via London last month.

But now it has emerged the full cost needed to transport the iconic ship has not been paid. There had been plans to make her an attraction at Port Adelaide, however, state elections mean it is unclear if the cash will still be forthcoming.

Peter Christopher, a director at the City of Adelaide Preservation Trust, said: “We’ll have to see what happens. We just had the Australian elections three weeks ago, which brought in a new government.

“The $850.000 (£500.000) was committed by the for mer government so whether the money will come through is the new administration’s decision to make. We will not be able to fund a contract for a heavy lift ship until the government find the money and give us a confirmation.

“But we hope it will come through before the renaming ceremony and that we can bring the ship to Australia next year.”

The ship is currently in Chatham docks in Kent, in the run up to a renaming ceremony, alongside the Dumbarton-built Cutty Sark.