Latest SS Richard Montgomery Report

6th June 2019
Latest SS Richard Montgomery Report

I recently had a meeting with Nusrat Ghani, who is Parliamentary Under-Secretary of state at the Department for Transport. Please find attached a photo. One of Ms Ghani responsibilities if for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which in turn is responsible for monitoring the state of the SS Richard Montgomery, a United States Liberty Ship that went aground I the Thames Estuary in August 1944.

Our meeting was one of several I have had with a succession of shipping ministers since 2010, to be briefed on the latest survey of the wreck, which still contains around 1,400 tons of explosives.

In the nine years I have been involved in these briefings, I have seen the standard of the surveys improve immeasurably as increasingly sophisticated survey equipment has become available. The latest available data follows survey work in 2017 using multibeam and laser scanning equipment and resulted in the following results:-

• As in previous years, the 2017 survey covered the entire wreck and surrounding seabed in detail.

• The six Key Areas, where accelerated levels of deterioration have been noted in previous years, again received scrutiny. Of these, three showed structural changes since the 2016 survey. Subsidence of up to 60cm was seen in the collapsed deck plating around Hold 2, the bridge deck area has continued to show evidence of collapse with some debris falling onto the seabed below and a split in the deck of the aft section of the wreck has subsided by up to 20cm since 2016 survey.

• Over the whole of the wreck, 96 specific features have been used in successive surveys as comparison points for quantifying change and deterioration. Od these 96 features, 22 showed some level of change between the 2016 survey and the 2017 survey (this includes changes in the Key Areas noted above).

• Across the wreck, there are small changes that reflect reworking of sediments lying on the deck surfaces and within the hatch openings rather than structural changes.

• In the wider survey area, 66 seabed objects have been noted in previous surveys. Close scrutiny of the backscatter data combined with the bathymetry has increased this to 72 objects noted in the 2017 survey data.

• Surface difference results showed that the seabed area around the wreck has generally remained stable during the period between 2016 and 2017 surveys. Differences are typically small with an overall slight erosional trend across much of the area. This corresponds to depth changes of -0.2m to 0.6m.

• During the 2017 survey some data was acquired using a newly available ultra-high resolution mode. This trial had limited benefits but has identified some options for future improvements.

The overall situation of the SS Richard Montgomery 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 24/7 and alternative options will be considered should deterioration of the superstructure make necessary a change in policy.

A copy of the full Survey Report can be found on the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/806176/SSRM_Survey_Report_2017.pdf