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The "Doomsday Wreck" - a problem that has not gone away or been forgotten.

Nigel Barraclough

The USS Richard Montgomery was one of the 2700 "Liberty" ships built in the second world war. In many respects they were considered to be "disposable" ships with a very short life - one passage across the Atlantic and their work was done. Launched in 1943 the Richard Montgomery sailed into the Thames estuary on 20August 1944 with a cargo of bombs for the Allied breakout from France. Unfortunately she was directed to a berth that was too shallow and ran aground. Attempts to refloat her and save her cargo for the war effort failed - she was stuck in soft mud and after having some of the bombs removed she started to break up. On the 8 September her back broke and a fortnight later all the bombs had been cleared from the rear half, but that left the rest barely touched - 13 700 bombs in all. They have remained there ever since in the wreck whose masts can still be seen above the water. Since then various attempts have been made to decide what is the best thing to do with the wreck. In 1944 the government decided that the best thing was to do nothing as salvage would cost £90 000 and exceed the value of the ship and its cargo. Also the bombs were unlikely to detonate unless a big explosion takes place near by.

Finding a solution is becoming more urgent - the wreck is deteriorating and cracks are appearing, furthermore the amount of shipping traffic in the area is increasing and the risk of collision exists. Finally there are plans to open a new natural gas terminal which will be able of to satisfy 5% of the UK's demand 2.5 km from the wreck. Soon ships carrying liquefied natural gas will pass within a few hundred metres of the wreck. Divers inspect the wreck every year, sonar surveys are carried out every 10 years and metallurgical samples were taken last year.

So what would happen?

If it all went "up" at once it would probably be the biggest non-nuclear explosion ever - 700 times the size of the 1995 Oklahoma City bomb. Just how much damage would depend on the tides: the more water covering the wreck the greater the damping effect. The worst case would be at low water when only 11 metres cover it. It is estimated that the blast would shatter almost every window in Sheerness and send a 300 metre diameter column of water, mud, metal and munitions 3 km up in the air (which would also have to come down again). It would also create a wave that while only 30cm high and therefore unlikely to breach the sea defences it could rise to 5 metres and the shock, transmitted through the clay would cause structural damage to buildings.

What can be done?

One option involves burying the wreck in sand or concrete to contain it. Another to build a protective earthwork to deaden any blast. The cargo would then be removed and disposed of, but this would require the evacuation of the population of Sheerness as a precaution. One method of disposal would be to grout the bombs together using concrete and then lift them - a technique already successfully used elsewhere.

The Department of Transport is conducting a risk assessment but it will not be complete for a year or two but one thing is certain the USS Richard Montgomery is not going to go away.

This has been taken from an article that appeared in NewScientist in August this year - if anyone would like to see it please let me know.