The story of the SS Richard Montgomery is fascinating. Although its name has been part of naval history for more than 80 years, it spent most of that time underwater, sunk in the Thames Estuary off the coast of the United Kingdom. Thousands of shipwrecks are scattered across the globe, some older and more historically significant. However, few evoke the fascination, respect, and even fear of the SS Richard Montgomery.
It makes sense. The Liberty ship’s holds contain more than 1,500 metric tons of explosives, which have caused considerable concern among local authorities.
A brief history of the SS Richard Montgomery. The SS Richard Montgomery had a short and fleeting existence as a cargo ship. It was built in the early 1940s in Jacksonville, Florida and named after an Irish officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. At that time, the ship was a Liberty-class vessel intended to support the Navy during World War II. It was launched in 1943, and not long after, in August 1944, it embarked on what would be its final mission. It was to transport almost 7,900 metric tons of ammunition and explosives on a route to Cherbourg in Normandy in Northwest France after passing through the UK.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. By October of that same year, the brand-new SS Richard Montgomery, measuring almost 442 feet in length, was resting at the bottom of the North Sea. Eight decades later, it remains there. Its sinking wasn’t the result of an attack from enemy forces but rather a series of unfortunate coincidences.
To this day, the ship continues to be a concern for British authorities.
What happened to the SS Richard Montgomery? Was it bad luck or poor decisions? The vessel completed most of its journey, but upon reaching the Thames Estuary, its crew was ordered to anchor at the Great Nore anchorage near Sheerness, a port town beside the mouth of the River Medway in South East England.
The SS Richard Montgomery was to wait there for a convoy to form before continuing its voyage across the English Channel. However, according to the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the problem was that the area was shallow, especially given how heavily laden the ship was.
Some reports mention a strong gale and potential weaknesses in the ship’s design. In any case, when the tide receded, the SS Richard Montgomery dragged its anchor and ran aground on a sandbank located east of the Isle of Grain, about 820 feet north of the Medway Approach Channel.
It was late August 1944. Following that event, things escalated quickly. The ship began to sink, and the steel plates of its hull split in the bridge area. By Aug. 23, just three days after the ship’s arrival in the Thames Estuary, authorities were already hiring stevedores to remove the valuable (and dangerous) cargo from the vessel. On Sept. 8, the ship ultimately broke apart completely.
An image of the current condition of the vessel taken from the latest official report.
The wreck’s biggest problem. The sinking of an almost brand new ship like the SS Richard Montgomery was concerning, but authorities were particularly worried about its cargo. This concern was warranted, given that the ship had been loaded with almost 6,900 metric tons of cargo, mostly ammunition. As such, British authorities began to empty its warehouses upon realizing the ship was sinking.
The challenge was that the forward holds soon flooded, and as the ship broke apart, a significant crack opened up on its starboard side. Although unloading efforts continued even after Sept. 8 with participation from the UK’s Royal Navy, the mission faced severe complications. A significant amount of explosives and ammunition was removed, but not all of it.
What was the outcome? In April 2023, the British government reported that deteriorating weather conditions further complicated the already difficult operation, jeopardizing the safety of the workers aboard the sinking ship. According to New Scientist in 2022, the Admiralty, the government department responsible when the ship sank, refused to compensate workers with the danger pay they demanded for handling munitions. Whether the weather or the payment issues played a more critical role, the mission was considered a partial success.
Around 3,300 metric tons of cargo were removed from the rear holds and from crates and explosives piled in the area between decks. However, by the time the salvage effort was abandoned at the end of September 1944, about 1,570 metric tons of net explosives remained aboard the ship, mostly in the forward section. With this dangerous cargo, the SS Richard Montgomery ultimately sank completely. Little remained of it except for the memories and the wreck, which split into two halves. The tips of the ship’s three masts are still poking above the water’s surface today.
Studies of the wreck have made it possible to follow its evolution closely.
Time went by… As the decades passed, World War II, along with the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, came to an end. The 20th century also came to a close, yet the ill-fated SS Richard Montgomery continued to rest on its sandy bed near the British coast. A sign warning of the presence of ammunition still hangs from its masts, which are barely visible today.
Despite the ship being a sunken relic of the Second World War for 80 years, British authorities haven’t forgotten about it. The wreck is clearly marked on Admiralty Charts. In addition, officials have established a no-entry exclusion zone and set up warning signs to indicate the danger, with radar surveillance personnel monitoring the area 24/7. Moreover, divers, sonar, and analyses conduct surveys periodically to track changes in the area. According to the British government, the goal is “to ensure that any changes to the wreck, or its immediate environment, are discovered quickly.”
Is there a risk of explosion? The UK government is clear on this matter, stating that “the risk of a major explosion is believed to be remote.” However, it acknowledges that it’s “prudent” to monitor the wreck’s condition closely. For years, British authorities have published an annual report on inspections. The latest report, from April 2023, is based on an analysis conducted just a year before and presents some intriguing conclusions.
The forward section of the ship is now 4 to 6 inches steeper, and a part of it has begun to collapse. The study says plans are underway to “reduce the height of the three masts” to limit their impact on the structure and, more importantly, prevent them from falling onto the deck and the delicate cargo it protects.
A map showing the location of the wreck.
Attracting media attention eight decades later. The wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery continues to generate considerable interest, even 80 years after sinking. British media, including Metro, Newsweek, and the BBC, have covered the recent discovery of 18 new “metallic objects” around it, which has led to delays in ongoing work to ensure safety measures. The removal of the ship’s masts, which has already been postponed multiple times, is now expected to take place next year, with previous plans scheduled for 2020 and 2022.
The 1972 calculations. Although the British Maritime & Coastguard Agency believes that the risk of the wreck’s cargo exploding is “remote,” experts have revisited calculations regarding the potential consequences of an explosion. According to New Scientist, the Explosives Research and Development Institute estimated in 1972 that an explosion could produce a tremendous blast capable of shattering windows in neighboring Sheerness and generating a massive 990-foot-wide column of mud, metal, and munitions propelled into the air.
A “minor tsunami”? New Scientist refers to the potential blast as “one of the world’s biggest non-nuclear explosions.” What’s more, it could be intensified by the nearby liquefied natural gas terminal at the Isle of Grain and the heavy traffic of supertankers. This issue has even reached the British Parliament, where terms like “tidal wave” or “minor tsunami” have been used to illustrate the potential consequences for surrounding areas. Some media outlets have gone even further, labeling it the “doomsday shipwreck.”
In an interview with the BBC, David Alexander, a professor at University College London who has extensively studied the SS Richard Montgomery, drew a clear conclusion. According to him, authorities should make efforts to remove the explosives, even if doing so won’t be cheap. “You’d certainly need enormous care because the structure of the ship is disintegrating at an accelerated rate,” he said.
Image | Ian Stedman [1, 2] | Maritime & Coastguard Agency
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