Archaeology & History

'Doomsday wreck' could explode and produce a tsunami, experts warn

By T.K. Randall
August 16, 2024 ·  15 comments

The ship's masts are still visible above the water. Image Credit: CC BY SA 2.0 Christine Matthews Built during the Second World War, the SS Richard Montgomery is perhaps the most dangerous shipwreck in the world thanks to its cargo of over 1,400 tons of explosives.

Ever since it sank beneath the Thames Estuary back in 1944, other ships have steered well clear of its large masts which, even today, continue to protrude from the water's surface.

Most worrying of all, however, is the fact that its explosive cargo still has the potential to detonate, especially if another ship were to accidentally collide with its masts.

In a worst case scenario, in which the vessel's entire ordnance explodes at the same time, it could send a potentially catastrophic tsunami up the River Thames in the direction of London.

Determining exactly what to do to make the wreck safe, however, has long proven a challenge.Plans are currently in motion to remove the masts, but some experts argue that this will not be enough.

David Welch - a senior explosives officer at bomb disposal company Ramora - maintains that the only way to render the wreck safe is for the UK government to actively remove the explosives from it.

"I do think that someone's going to have to do something soon, in the next decade, or we're going to miss the boat," he said. "The wreck is falling apart, as all wrecks do, and munitions are falling out of it."

"Over time, that's only going to get worse and then you'll end up with an uncontained area of munitions. There's small fishing vessels in the area, there's all sorts of other activities, and you don't want these items to become lost."

"If you fast forward 100 years, the likelihood is the wreck won't be there, but the pile of munitions will."

Source: Mail Online | Comments (15)

Tags: Shipwreck