The Royal Navy has been called in to help cut the masts from a sunken cargo ship in the River Thames, after the latest survey revealed decay could trigger a deadly explosion of 1,400 tonnes of explosives on board.

The SS Richard Montgomery was an American Liberty ship, which ran aground on the Nore sandbank in the Thames Estuary in August 1944, during World War II. Despite attempts to remove its dangerous cargo, the ship’s hull cracked and it sank off Medway, in Kent.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which monitors the condition of the wreck and carries out regular surveys, had previously considered the risk of an explosion as remote.

But the latest survey found the ship’s three masts were deteriorating and in a poor state. Reports have found cracks in the vessel’s hull are increasing, prompting fears that further decay to the wreck could trigger an explosion that would “throw a 300 metre-wide column of water and debris nearly 3,000 metres into the air and generate a wave 5 metres high”, according to a new report by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

 

Source: marineindustrynews