The three masts of the SS Richard Montgomery have been removed from the World War II shipwreck in the Thames Estuary. The vessel sank in August 1944 with roughly 1,500 tons of bombs, weapons and other munitions still on board.
The masts had remained above the water near Sheerness. Officials were concerned that their deteriorating structures could collapse onto the wreck and potentially disturb the explosives inside its damaged hull. The British government spent $12 million on the removal, according to the recovered report.
Resolve Marine, the company hired for the work, surveyed the site using radar, magnetometers and sonar. Crews then used a remotely operated diamond-wire saw to cut the masts and a custom lifting frame to raise them without swinging them against the wreck.
The masts have been taken to the Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent for conservation. In a statement to Parliament on October 19, aviation, maritime and logistics minister Keir Mather said the move would help preserve an important part of the region’s heritage. The wreck itself will remain under continuous monitoring and control.
The Richard Montgomery was part of an Allied convoy carrying munitions to the United Kingdom and France. After anchoring off Sheerness while waiting to cross the English Channel, the ship ran aground on a sandbar on August 20, 1944. Salvage crews recovered about half its explosive cargo before a crack in the hull allowed water to flood the vessel. They abandoned the effort on September 25, and the ship sank.
The exact munitions remaining aboard are unknown. Experts believe they may include 2,000-pound bombs, fragmentation bombs and white phosphorus smoke ordnance. The potential consequences of an explosion are uncertain, but the report says nearby communities could be at risk.
The wreck lies close to busy shipping lanes, although buoys mark an exclusion zone and vessels are not allowed to approach it. The report also notes concerns about people entering the restricted area and the possibility of interference with the site. Before the masts were removed, the wreck had begun to lean and deteriorate, with structures around the masts showing signs of failure.
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine.