By The government says that work to remove the three masts from the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery in the Thames estuary will begin in early September.
SS Richard Montgomery was a WW2 American Liberty ship that dragged her anchor while waiting to unload her cargo of munitions on 20 Aug 1944. She ended up on the Nore sandbank near Sheerness, Kent, and broke her back when the tide stranded her. Efforts were made to extract her cargo but eventually had to be abandoned, leaving approximately 1,400 tonnes of explosives on board.
Over the years, the condition of both the wreck and the explosives has deteriorated. For decades there has been a very real risk of a massive explosion that could throw a 300 diameter column of water and debris nearly three kilometres into the air and generate a wave 5 metres high. Almost every window in Sheerness would be broken and buildings would be damaged by the blast. Some reports in May 2012 said the wave could be about a metre high, enough to cause flooding in some coastal settlements.¹
So, why the mast removal?
Well, the masts protruding from the water are something of a local landmark, but as the SS Richard Montgomery slowly deteriorates the decks that support the masts are weakening. The worry, for decades, has been that if one of them should collapse it could trigger a corroded fuse, and with it, the feared explosion.
The government first said they would remove the masts 5 years ago, but the job is such a tricky one, the plans keep changing, and the project delayed. However, this time with the involvement of Resolve, one of the world’s foremost marine salvage and engineering companies, it seems likely to go ahead.
The operation will involve constructing an underwater platform to allow Resolve’s specialist maritime engineers to cut the masts below the surface over the course of several weeks.
The announcement places special emphasis on the future of the three masts as historical relics. Once removed from the SS Richard Montgomery, says Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister, Keir Mather, they will be taken to The Historic Dockyard Chatham – which is home to specialist restoration facilities – where they can be properly preserved.
They will then go on to be displayed somewhere locally, creating opportunities for local people and visitors to learn more about Kent’s maritime heritage and delivering thousands of pounds in regional tourism benefits.
“Keeping the masts in Kent,” said Mr Mather “will also preserve an important piece of the county’s maritime heritage, allowing future generations to learn more about the story of the vessel and the great sacrifices made by the Allied Forces during the Second World War.”
The project is backed by £9.5 million government funding and on-site preparations will begin later this month to remove any risk ahead of the major engineering project.
¹ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery
Feature photo: Wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery, off Sheerness by Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0
