£5m ‘danger money’ offered to hack off rusting masts of ‘bomb ship’

The Ministry of Defence is offering to pay £5m ‘danger money’ to any company prepared to hack off the rusting masts of an American ‘bomb ship’, according to Kent Online.

The SS Richard Montgomery has remained a danger to shipping in the Thames Estuary since it sank off Sheerness on August 20, 1944, loaded with explosives. It still has 1,400 tonnes of bombs on board.

The Salvage and Marine Operations (Salmo) Team at the Ministry of Defence has asked companies to tender for the delicate job of removing the distinctive masts which have acted as a warning to shipping for the past 75 years.

A post on the Government’s website says a contract notice for the work, subject to funding, was ready to be issued last month with the intention of awarding the contract in September.

Although many residents on the Isle of Sheppey and across the water in Southend have felt uncomfortable living in the shadow of the ship, many more would be sad to lose the masts which are a popular talking point with tourists.

Veteran sailor, Tim Bell, from Minster told Kent Online: “I can see the sense in cutting the masts down because they are starting to collapse and rust and could fall onto the deck below where there are still 2,000 cases of cluster bombs.

“But it will also be sad to see an end of an era. The masts are a Sheppey icon. Generations of Islanders have looked at them from the seafront or taken boat trips around them. Soon there will be nothing to see.

“Whichever firm is picked, they are going to have be very gentle with this one.”

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP, Gordon Henderson, told Kent Online: “The overall situation has not changed. The non-intervention policy that has been in place for several decades under successive governments is still the best option.

“However, the wreck will continue to be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week and alternative options will be considered should deterioration of the superstructure make necessary a change in policy.”

There is a safety zone around the wreck which can be seen clearly at low tide. Some believe the explosives, mainly phosphor bombs, are still unsafe and could cause a tsunami if they go off which could flood parts of Sheerness and Southend.

Read the full article in Kent Online.

How the Richard Montgomery looked before sinking off Sheerness

2 responses to “£5m ‘danger money’ offered to hack off rusting masts of ‘bomb ship’”

  1. DOUGLAS SEAGO says:

    I have sailed boats out of Southend, Leigh on sea and Burnham on crouch for well over 59 years and I am well aquanted with the danger of the Montgomery.

    However I have always felt that the masts at high water springs were the only visible sign of the presence of this danger as the buoys are not in proportion to the danger of sailing into the ship in fog and or darkness by accident.

    Consequently removing the masts apart from being a danger in its own entity would also increase the danger as there would be no witness of the danger at high water spring tide surges.

    Douglas Seago I.Eng. MIIE

    • Robin Bank says:

      That is a very good point raised by Douglas Seago – if there’s nothing visible, in time it will be forgotten and the risk of an oil tankeer colliding with the wreck would be like the titanic colliding with a submerged iceberg.