World War Two wreck in Thames Estuary is 'ticking time bomb' amid concerns of 'tsunami risk'

[Nick]

But your link says:

So why are you wasting your effort arguing against your own link?
1400 tons is 1270 metric tons, or about 1300 as I posted.

You are wrong, and you should apologise for wasting my valuable time.

He's not man enough to admit being wrong, or post evidence. 

[Barry]

It is 7000 tons of munitions, (from the link I posted earlier.)

But your link says:

The wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery remains on the sandbank where she sank. The wreck lies across the tide close to the Medway Approach Channel and her masts are clearly visible above the water at all states of the tide. There are still approximately 1,400 tons of explosives contained within the forward holds.

So why are you wasting your effort arguing against your own link?
1400 tons is 1270 metric tons, or about 1300 as I posted.

You are wrong, and you should apologise for wasting my valuable time.

[Nick]

Not been much traffic on here. GBNews is long way out of date it is not really a news item at all.  Regular inspections have been carried out of the wreck since it sank.

SS Richard Montgomery: background information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you don't link it bugger off, you will not be missed I can assure you. 
Next time you disrupt a thread you will be gone. 
Any response by you to this post will be deleted. 

[cromwell]

Not been much traffic on here. GBNews is long way out of date it is not really a news item at all.  Regular inspections have been carried out of the wreck since it sank.

SS Richard Montgomery: background information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Enough traffic to keep it alive,as you've been told you are welcome to post but don't push your luck.

[Unlucky4Sum]

except that no one has come up with a safe way of removing the ordnance

[papasmurf]

1300 tonnes of ordnance would create a very dangerous explosion.

It is  7000 tons of munitions, (from the link I posted earlier.)

[Barry]

The vessel sank in 1944. There have been various different administrations responsible for this scenario since then...

I have seen a letter from Lieutenant Cohune of the US Navy, dated 12th March 1962 which states the shipwreck was raised in Aoril 1948 and sold on 28th April 1948 to salvage "Phillipps Craft and Fisher Company". It is in the Criterion Blue Town museum, Isle of Sheppey.

I have also seen the masts of the ship which are about 2km off the coast of Sheerness, which are easily viewed from the sea wall at Tesco's car park.

The Yanks were scammed!

The government need to get a grip of this wreck and remove the ordnance and clear the estuary. Near misses occur quite often.
1300 tonnes of ordnance would create a very dangerous explosion.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQp0n8zuoC4

[papasmurf]

Since it was run by a news outlet it is,and at last almost a week on you've realised that the forum won't die without your input.

Not been much traffic on here. GBNews is long way out of date it is not really a news item at all.  Regular inspections have been carried out of the wreck since it sank. 

SS Richard Montgomery: background information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[Unlucky4Sum]

Not sure that's even relevant. It is now that it is deemed dangerous and Khan is the lousy incumbent.

Nope

It's not London that's at risk and it's miles from any area under the remit of the London mayor. The risk is to Sheerness and possibly the Isle of Grain with some very small risk to Southend.  Some say if Sheerness was razed to the ground it'd be no loss but actually the place has its merits.

FWIW the consensus throughout has been that all the mooted interventions would be more risky than just leaving it and the munitions to rot away.  The current issue is driven by a concern the masts could fall onto the wreck.   

[cromwell]

Not exactly a news item.

Since it was run by a news outlet it is,and at last almost a week on you've realised that the forum won't die without your input.

[T00ts]

The vessel sank in 1944. There have been various different administrations responsible for this scenario since then...

Not sure that's even relevant. It is now that it is deemed dangerous and Khan is the lousy incumbent.

[patman post]

Perhaps the real truth is that the London Mayor would be happy enough for it to blow. It might remove parts of London that he wished were not there anyway.

The vessel sank in 1944. There have been various different administrations responsible for this scenario since then...

[T00ts]

Perhaps the real truth is that the London Mayor would be happy enough for it to blow. It might remove parts of London that he wished were not there anyway.

[GBNews]

World War Two wreck in Thames Estuary is 'ticking time bomb' amid concerns of 'tsunami risk'

A World War Two wreck in the Thames Estuary could explode at any second and prompt a "tsunami risk", experts fear.

The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary in August 1944 with 1,400 tonnes of explosives still inside.

The three masts that can be seen above the water's surface are going to be removed, however, experts say that this is not enough. A new survey has revealed that the body of the ship is also collapsing, so the explosives need to be removed as soon as possible.

Professor David Alexander of University College London said that the vessel remains a "serious threat" and that just removing the masts would not suffice.

He said that if the explosives were to be triggered, a five-metre tsunami could rise in the Thames.

Professor Alexander warned that the SS Richard Montgomery is just 5km away from the Isle of Grain, where 28 petroleum tanks and five natural gas tanks the "size of the Royal Albert Hall" lie.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, he cited a report written by the Royal Military in the 1970s about the vessel which said that "there could be "an explosion producing a column of water and sand about 3,000 metres high, a five-metre tsunami and goodness knows what else"

"There are plenty of other things that could happen, for example a series of repeated explosions. I think the government's attitude that unexploded ordnance gets safer over time is not supported by ordnance experts," he said.

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He mentioned potential incidents that could trigger an explosion, including a terrorist attack and a collision with a ship.

He cited the example of the Mare Altum - a Danish-flagged chemical tanker that was on a collision course with the wreck when it was luckily diverted with just minutes to spare back in 1980.

Professor Alexander has called on the Government to clear the ship of explosives.

He said: "I think it is worth doing because I'm not convinced that it is becoming safer, and I'm not convinced that it is safe now."

The ship was an American vessel carrying military weapons for the allies in the Second World War.

The SS Richard Montgomery has been nicknamed the "Doomsday wreck" due to its potential explosive power.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of the public and reduce any risk posed by the SS Richard Montgomery.

"We commissioned experts to carry out vital surveying work and we continue to monitor the site 24 hours a day and undertake detailed surveys to assess the wreck's condition."

Source: World War Two wreck in Thames Estuary is 'ticking time bomb' amid concerns of 'tsunami risk'