Britain has removed three masts from a World War II cargo ship wreck in the Thames Estuary, easing pressure on its structure while an estimated 1,400 tonnes of explosives remain aboard.
The Department for Transport announced the work Oct. 19. It said all three masts had been taken to the Historic Dockyard Chatham for conservation. The wreck lies about 1.5 miles off Sheerness, England.
An expert advisory group recommended removing the masts in 2018 because their weight strained the aging ship and they could fall onto its cargo. Maritime Minister Keir Mather said the work finished ahead of schedule and below forecast cost. The government committed £9.5 million to the project but gave no final spending figure.
The SS Richard Montgomery, an American Liberty cargo ship, ran aground off Sheerness in 1944. Salvage crews recovered about half its original cargo before flooding halted the operation, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Crews trimmed the ship’s rigging in 1999 to reduce strain. The mast project paused in 2023 after investigators found munitions from both world wars beneath the seabed.
Removing the masts addresses one source of risk to the wreck but leaves its cargo in place. The government said it will continue monitoring the ship. Its maritime exclusion zone and restrictions on nearby flights remain in force.
Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood told Parliament in April that government modeling treated a worst-case explosion as highly unlikely. In that modeled case, she said, single-glazed windows could sustain minor damage, debris was not expected to reach towns and waves were unlikely to breach flood defenses. Greenwood said Ministry of Defence experts had reviewed the modeling.
The government has not announced a date for another decision about the wreck.
