Concerns about WWII-era SS Richard Montgomery and its explosives

摘要

The WWII SS Richard Montgomery sits just 2.4km offshore the town of Sheerness on Kent's Isle of Sheppey and locals fear that its 1,400 tonnes of high explosives are very dangerous. It is clearly visible in the Thames estuary and its sunken cargo could potentially cause a devastating explosion at any time. Known semi-affectionately to locals as "Monty" the 134m vessel was a US Liberty ship which reached the UK in August 1944 carrying munitions to help the Allied war effort. On 20th August 1944 while waiting to join a convoy across the channel to France, harsh weather caused the ship to drag anchor and founder on a sand bank. The hull's welded plates began to crack and buckle under the weight of the explosives on board. A salvage operation was mounted and managed to empty the rear half of the ship before abandoning it on 25th September when the forward section flooded and the vessel snapped in half.