The story of SS Richard Montgomery is an interesting one. Its name has been part of universal maritime annals for eighty years, but the vast majority of that time has been spent underwater, sunk in the Thames Estuary off the coast of the United Kingdom. There are thousands of shipwrecks like it spread all over the world; some are much older and interesting from a historical perspective; But few can inspire the admiration, respect, and even fear that SS Richard Montgomery does.

And it makes sense that it should be so. At least 1,400 tons of explosives are stored in the holds of this World War II ship, which worries local authorities.

Summary? History of the SS R. Montgomery. As a cargo ship, the SS Richard Montgomery had a short life. Almost seen and unseen. In the early 1940s in Jacksonville, Florida, during World War II. She was built as a Liberty-class ship designed to support the US Navy during World War II. She was already on the water in 1943 and soon set sail in August 1944. What would be its final mission: transport more than 6,000 tons of ammunition and explosives on a route that would take it to Cherbourg, Normandy, after passing through the United Kingdom.

It didn’t go well. Before October of the same year, the brand new SS Richard Montgomery, named in honor of an officer of the US War of Independence and measuring more than 130 meters in length, lay at the bottom of the North Sea, where it is still found today. eighty years later. There was no need for any attack by the Axis fighting forces to send it to the bottom. All it took was a series of unfortunate coincidences. This does not mean that the ship is still present in the minds of British officials today.

Visible masts of the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery.

But… What happened to him? Bad luck. Or bad decisions. The ship completed most of the voyage, but after reaching the Thames estuary its crew was ordered to anchor at the Great Nore anchorage opposite Sheerness, a port city located next to the mouth of the River Medway. There he had to wait for a convoy to form that would continue its journey across the English Channel. The problem, according to the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency, was that the area was shallow, especially considering how full the ship was.

There are those who talk about a severe storm or even weak points in the design of the boat. The thing is, at low tide the SS Richard Montgomery dragged its anchor and became stranded on a sandbar east of Grain Island.

It was late August 1944. From that moment on, events developed rapidly: the ship began to sink into the water, and the steel plates of its hull broke in the bridge area. On August 23, three days after the ship’s arrival at the estuary, authorities were already hiring stevedores to remove the ship’s valuable (and dangerous) cargo. On September 8, the ship finally broke apart completely.

Ship condition. Image taken from the British Government’s latest report.

A wreck and a big problem. The sinking of an almost brand new ship like the Richard Montgomery was a major chore, but if there was one thing that worried the authorities it was its cargo. And this is normal. The ship was loaded with 6,127 British tons of cargo, mostly ammunition. Thereupon, when the authorities realized that it was sinking, they began to empty its warehouses.

The problem was that the bow holds were soon flooded, breaking the ship and opening a large crack on the starboard side. Although the evacuation efforts continued after 8 September and the Royal Navy also participated in the work, the task was left to precautions. They removed significant amounts of explosives and ammunition, but not all.

What was the result? The British Government says the already delicate operation has been further complicated by worsening weather conditions, endangering the safety of operators on the slowly sinking ship. In 2022, Mick Hamer argued a slightly different version of this in New Scientist: The Admiralty refused to pay workers the hazard bonus they demanded for carrying bombs. Whatever one factor or another, the fact is that the mission was a partial success.

A significant amount of cargo was removed. Approximately 2,945 tonnes from the after holds and boxes and explosives stowed in the area between decks. However, when the salvage operation was stopped at the end of September 1944, approximately 1,400 tons of net explosives (NEQ) remained on board, the majority in the forward section. With this delicate filling, Richard Montgomery is completely sunk. Only a memory remains, a huge wreck split in two and the tips of its masts still out of the water today.

Studies of the wreck made it possible to closely monitor its development.

And decades have passed. That’s it. World War II is over; 40s, 50s, 60s… The 20th century ended and the ill-fated SS Richard Montgomery continued to sleep in her sandy bed near the British coast and the Medway access canal. Its poles, on which hangs a sign warning of the presence of ammunition, are barely visible. This is more or less also explained by the British Government, which confirms that approximately 1,400 tons of explosives are still accumulated in the bow holds.

Just because the ship has been a sunken remnant from World War II for 80 years doesn’t mean authorities have forgotten about it. The wreckage is well marked on Admiralty maps, an exclusion zone has been established, there are hazard warning signs and personnel responsible for radar monitoring 24 hours a day. From time to time, studies are carried out to closely follow its evolution with divers, sonar and analysis. The government explains that the aim is to “enable rapid discovery of any changes”.

Is there a risk of explosion? The government is clear on this issue. He notes that “the risk of a major explosion is remote” but still recognizes that the “prudent” thing to do is to closely monitor the development of the debris. For years it published an annual report on its inspections. The last one, dated 2023, is based on an analysis done just a year ago and leaves some interesting conclusions.

The front part is now 10-15 cm steeper and some of it has started to collapse. The study acknowledges that it is planned to “reduce the height” of three masts to limit their impact on the structure and, most importantly, to prevent them from falling onto the deck and the sensitive cargo it protects.

British Government map showing the location of the wreck.

Awakening interest after eighty years. Proof that the wreck still generates interest 80 years later is that it is still well covered in the national (and foreign) media, with articles in the Metro, News Week or BBC reporting the discovery of 18 new “objects” in the spring. The “metal” around the debris forced work to be delayed to ensure its safety. He assured that mast removal work is expected for next year. This is not the first time they have been postponed. They were already planned for 2020 and 2022.

1972 calculations. The fact that the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency estimated the risk of the cargo in the wreckage exploding “remotely” did not prevent some experts from making calculations to calculate what an explosion of this scale would mean. This was revealed by New Scientist at the time, noting that in 1972 the Explosives Research and Development Institute (ERDE) predicted that the large slingshot would be enormous: it would destroy the windows of neighboring Sheerness and form a massive column 300 meters high. Vast mud, metal and cargo at high altitude.

“A small tsunami”? New Scientist speaks of “one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world”, which will be exacerbated by the proximity of the liquefied natural gas terminal in grain and supertanker traffic. The issue even reached the British Parliament; The phrase “tidal wave” or “little tsunami” was used, as did the BBC, to warn of the consequences this would have in nearby areas. Some media outlets go further and speak of a “shipwreck at the end of the world.”

When the British channel interviewed a few months ago David Alexander, a professor at University College London who has extensively analyzed the case of the SS Richard Montgomery, his conclusion was clear: attempts should be made to remove the explosives, but this is not possible. It’s a cheap task. “Undoubtedly, extreme caution must be exercised as the structure of the ship is disintegrating at an increasing rate,” warns the expert.

Pictures | Ian Stedman (Flickr) 1 and 2 and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency

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