Wreck of SS Montgomery on the Thames

[buffnut453]

Just saw this article and thought it might interest a few folk here, not least because of the 3D models that have been created of the ship. The SS Montgomery was beached in 1944 with a cargo of explosives that was never removed. The masts appear above the River Thames and have become something of a draw for people wanting to see a genuine WW2 relic on the Thames. However, the masts are becoming unstable, and the fear is that their collapse might trigger an explosion of the cargo.

Here's the article for any who are interested:

Masts to be axed from explosive-filled shipwreck in safety bid

The SS Richard Montgomery's explosive cargo has lain on the bed of the Thames Estuary for 77 years.

www.bbc.com

 

[Glider]

I lived close to Southend and you can see the masts quite clearly at low tide. It's funny how people get used to living next to a literal time bomb.

The logic that you check the cargo on a regular basis to see if the explosives are unstable and then not do anything I could never understand. So what happens if you check the cargo and find the explosives are unstable, what then, try to move unstable explosives?

 

[SaparotRob]

I'm laughing with you, my friend.

 

[EwenS]

I lived close to Southend and you can see the masts quite clearly at low tide. It's funny how people get used to living next to a literal time bomb.

The logic that you check the cargo on a regular basis to see if the explosives are unstable and then not do anything I could never understand. So what happens if you check the cargo and find the explosives are unstable, what then, try to move unstable explosives?

Caught between a rock and a hard place really.

Do nothing and hope/pray nothing happens.
Do something and risk triggering an explosion.

The latter method was tried in the 1960s with another shipwreck from 1946 with less explosives involved. But using explosives on it was perhaps not the best option!

SS Kielce - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I love the quote on a Wiki from the MCA that "doing nothing [was] not an option for much longer". And that was 21 years ago! Or nearly 25% of the time she has been lying there quite peacefully slowly rotting away. But if the ship is slowly disintegrating then so are the bomb casings, which must make moving them difficult.

Sometimes in life the best option is just to do nothing and let nature take its course.

 

[wingnuts]

My dad was from Southend, Westcliff on Sea actually, I remember seeing the masts back in the 1950s when we visited, I am surprised they are still there...... but apparently not for much longer. Masts to be axed from explosive-filled shipwreck in safety bid

 

[SaparotRob]

It's almost a year later. Has there been any work done on the wreck yet?

 

[Vic Balshaw]

It's almost a year later. Has there been any work done on the wreck yet?

According to Wiki the proposed removal of the mast by a contractor supported by the Royal Navy was supposed to have happened in June 2022 but this was the delayed for a year. So maybe come June 2023 it will happen.