Shipwreck: SS Richard Montgomery
When asked which shipwreck is my favourite shipwreck the SS Richard Montgomery immediately sprang to mind. The WW2 liberty ship has been quietly sat atop Sheerness Middle Sand bank within the outer Thames Estuary since 1944. Sandwiched between two shipping channels, her masts eerily protrude from the water’s surface and carry warning signs of her dangerous nature. The hull of the wreck still contains some 3,000 tonnes of explosives, loaded on to the ship in America, which many fear could detonate when the structure of the hull inevitably collapses in on itself.
I, however, am less concerned with the contents of the wreck and more with the effects the wreck has had on the seafloor. The wreck’s presence on the seafloor has dramatically altered the local flow of the tidal currents and where these currents accelerate around the structure sediment is scoured away. The wreck now firmly sits within a crater, or scour pit. However, recent propositions for the construction of an airport within the Thames Estuary threaten the wreck’s permanency. A feasibility report for the airport construction stated that it would seem necessary for the full treatment and/or removal and disposal of the munitions. This would mean a sad end to the wreck of the Monty, one of only three remaining unaltered liberty ships.
Amelia Astley
Find out more about SS Richard Montgomery
If you are interested in finding out more about SS Richard Montgomery, it is covered in Week 2 of Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds. Sign up here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/shipwrecks
Coast Series 2, episode 8 – Felixstowe to Margate has a section on SS Richard Montgomery.