An Essex councillor has said it’s time for the government to ‘come clean’ about why a ‘doomsday wreck’ in the Thames has had safety work delayed yet again.
The SS Richard Montgomery – nicknamed the ‘Doomsday Wreck’ – sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness in Kent and Southend-on-Sea in Essex in 1944.
After 78 years underwater, the World War II Liberty Ship has become severely corroded, and there have been concerns that the ship’s three masts – which can still be seen poking above the water’s surface – could collapse and fall onto the dormant explosives, triggering a ‘catastrophic’ blast.
A project to remove the masts had been repeatedly delayed, but it was announced last April that the work would finally be completed within a year.
Now, as yet another deadline passes without action, the government has been urged to ‘come clean’ about the reason why.
Southend councillor Stephen Aylen, whose constituency is just eight miles from the wreck, said: ‘Why haven’t they removed them? That’s the first question we have to ask.
‘What I would think was: that they haven’t taken them off because there’s some issue there that’s being kept quiet. Is there something on the wreck that they don’t want revealed?
‘What’s on there? What is actually on that boat? It’s time to come clean.’
Mr Aylen previously suggested that the wreck could carry another ‘far more sinister’ cargo – mustard gas.
Another Liberty Ship, the SS John Harvey, was carrying a secret shipment of the killer gas when it was sunk off Bari, Italy, in December 1943.
The deadly cargo escaped, killing dozens, with hundreds more injured.
Mr Aylen asked: ‘Is there something very serious on there?
‘The public needs to know: there needs to be some honesty as to what is actually going to happen with this ship.’
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What mustard gas does to the body
- Exposure to sulfur mustard is usually non-fatal.
- Sulfur mustard can be odourless, so victims often do not know they have come into contact with it.
- Depending on the severity of the exposure, symptoms may not appear for up to 24 hours. Some people are more sensitive to sulfur mustard than are other people, and may have signs and symptoms sooner.
- Sulfur mustard can have the following effects on specific parts of the body:
- Skin: Redness and itching of the skin may occur two to 48 hours after exposure. It may eventually change to yellow blistering.
- Eyes: Irritation, pain, swelling, and tearing may occur within three to 12 hours of a mild to moderate exposure. A severe exposure may cause signs and symptoms within one to two hours and may include the symptoms of a mild or moderate exposure as well as sensitivity to light, severe pain, or blindness lasting up to 10 days.
- Respiratory tract: Runny nose, sneezing, hoarseness, bloody nose, sinus pain, shortness of breath, and cough within 12 to 24 hours of a mild exposure and within two to four hours of a severe exposure.
- Digestive tract: Abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and vomiting.
- Bone marrow: Cecreased formation of blood cells or decreased red or white blood cells and platelets, which lead to weakness, bleeding and infections.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A 1970 report from the Royal Military College of Science predicted what would happen if the whole explosive cache detonated at once.
It would unleash a column of water and debris 3,000 metres high, and a five-metre tsunami, engulfing nearby Sheerness, the report said.
Experts fear that the masts, which lurk in one of the world’s busiest waterways, are vulnerable to an accidental collision.
Speaking last year, David Alexander, Professor of Emergency Planning and Management at University College London, said this was ‘the biggest risk’.
‘The exclusion zone is 200 metres from a major shipping lane through which large container ships pass and, much more seriously, liquefied natural gas ships,’ he explained.
He cited the example of the Mare Altum, a Danish-flagged chemical tanker that was on a collision course with the wreck when it was diverted with only minutes to spare.
It was one of two near-misses within a single week in May 1980, coming just days after the British-registered MV Fletching came within 15 metres of the wreck.
Mr Aylen was similarly concerned: ‘We saw the container ship that hit that bridge in America, and that sends us alarm bells. If that can happen with a bridge that’s been there for years, why can’t a ship sail into a few masts that are sticking up?
‘Especially with these huge container ships coming down the Thames.
We’ve had boats go into the pier!’
Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend’s Labour-led council, said he was unaware of any reason for the delay: ‘I haven’t heard anything directly, but broadly speaking we’re keen to see the work done and for the estuary to be made safe.’
A survey published last year found signs of recent collapse in the ship.
Now it seems safety work will be delayed for another year.
The Department for Transport, the responsible ministry, said the wreck would be further surveyed, and a plan would be worked out with an approved contractor to remove the masts.
The ministry anticipated this would be done within a year, but said it aimed to remove the masts as soon as possible.
A spokesperson said: ‘Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of the public and reduce any risk posed by the SS Richard Montgomery. Experts are carrying out vital preparatory work to support any physical interactions with the wreck.
‘We continue to monitor the site 24 hours a day and undertake detailed surveys to assess the wreck’s condition.’
The ministry has previously said there has ‘never been any evidence’ to suggest mustard gas was present on the wreck.
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