Masts of the SS Richard Montgomery visible above the Thames
In 1944, a ship sank while carrying 1,400 tons of explosives during World War II. Time passes and its structure deteriorates without solution.
In August 1944, the SS Richard Montgomery, an American freighter built during World War II, sank in the Thames Estuary after a series of misfortunes.
Designed to transport ammunition for the Allied campaign in Normandy, the ship ran aground on a sandbank due to a combination of bad decisions and adverse conditions.
Although an operation was launched to remove its dangerous cargo of around 1,400 tons of explosives who were trapped in the holds when the ship broke up and sank completely, the work was not successful.
As a result, says the , the sunken ship is currently considered by the United Kingdom as a major security threat from various parts of the country.
The advanced deterioration of the structure of the SS Richard Montgomery has generated concern among experts and authorities, who warn of the fact that an explosion could trigger a tsunami which would affect the coasts of Kent and Essex, even placing The city of London is at risk.
The vessel, built in 1943, was part of the fleet of Liberty ships destined for support Allied logistics during World War II. Its mission was to transport more than 6,000 tons of ammunition to Cherbourg, but the incident prevented him from carrying out his mission.
A risk that has persisted for eight decades
A recent from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency revealed that the sinking is show alarming signs of deterioration.
As cracks in the ship’s hull are increasing and the slope of its front section has increased by up to 15 centimeters. Furthermore, experts identified 18 unknown metallic objects in the vicinity of the wreckage, which further complicates inspection and maintenance work.
According to , the British government proposed the removal of masts visible from the SS Richard Montgomery, which could collapse on the load and detonate the explosives.
This project, initially scheduled for 2020, suffered several delays due to the technical complexity and the discovery of new objects in the area. The work has been rescheduled for next year, while experts design a safe methodology to carry out the operation.
In the Thames Estuary in the UK there is a sunken mmunition ship from World War II that pokes out of the sea at low tide.
It’s a shipping hazard buy we’ve been told it cannot be blown up as property in a wide radius would be damaged. I imagine it would be something similar.
— Spider-Father@TFNation2024🏳️🌈 (@mellowshade)
The UK Ministry of Transport is constantly monitoring the wreckage of the sunken ship, using radar and annual underwater surveys to assess changes in the structure of the wreck.
But although the authorities consider that the risk of explosion is lowthe potential impact of an accident raises concerns.
In effect, a detonation of the ship’s explosive charges could cause “an of the largest non-nuclear explosions of the world”, generating a shock wave that would reach neighboring cities — which would cause a tidal wave in the Thames estuary, explains professor David Alexanderfrom University College London.
Thus, the risk of London being hit by a tsunami caused by what some British media callm o shipwreck at the end of the world.
