Posted on 08/22/2004 9:03:26 PM PDT by ScuzzyTerminator
Wrecked warship is a 'timebomb'
The American cargo ship USS Richard Montgomery, 2km off Sheerness in Kent, has 13,700 explosive devices on board.
If the ship exploded it would be one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts ever and would devastate the port, the report in the New Scientist magazine claims.
The Department of Transport said a risk assessment of the ship was in progress.
Salvage 'too risky'
The government commissioned the assessment in 1999, but it has not been published.
Mick Hamer, who wrote the report for New Scientist, told the BBC he felt there were two main options - to bury the wreck in sand or concrete or to move all or part of it.
But he said if the ship or its cargo was moved the whole of Sheerness would have to be evacuated because of the risk of explosion.
He said: "It's as dangerous now as it has been for the last 60 years.
"There's 1,400 tonnes of TNT on there, that's about one twelfth the size of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan.
"It could blow up for a number of reasons - it could blow up spontaneously, it could blow up in parts or it could blow up the whole cargo.
"It could blow up because of terrorism, somebody might target it, or it could blow up simply because of bombs moving in the tide."
The Department of Transport told BBC News Online the wreck of the USS Richard Montgomery was checked by divers once a year and that no ships were allowed to pass over the wreck.
She said the last examination, in 2003, showed the site to be no more dangerous than in the past.
The ship ran aground in 1944 and a salvage operation was deemed too risky to continue.
Shatter most windows
When the wreck was reassessed the bombs were considered too unstable to move.
In 1970, government tests on the site showed a blast would hurl a 1,000ft wide column of water, mud, metal and munitions almost 10,000ft into the air.
The shock of the blast would shatter almost every window in Sheerness and damage buildings.
The explosion would also generate a 16ft high wave that could sink a small craft.
Mr Hamer said: "It's certainly going to be very dangerous to do anything about it, there's no doubt about that.
"The government has been advised that doing nothing isn't really a sensible option any more."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said: "The site remains a prohibited area under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 - no vehicles can move over the site.
"An ultrasound in 2003 showed no grounds for increased cause for alarm and we keep the condition of the vessel under regular monitoring."
Lovely. Now al Qaeda needs to do is light the fuse.
Agh: "Now ALL al Qaeda needs to do..."
Time for bed...
*sigh* Yeah.
Fuggedaboudit.
It is under too much water to do any more than throwing a buttload of water into the air. Oh yeah, and breaking some windows, maybe.
It would literally be more dangerous if terrorists managed to salvaage and fuse a bomb from thsi ship.
Simple.
Clear out the town and make the ship go BOOM!
Problem solved, plus all the fish you can scoop up.
Sounds like a pretty good fishing trip to me.
Pour lots and lots of concrete over it. Cap it with a heavy steel cap, and try to redirect the blast downward.
On second thought, bad idea... Might set off a carbon gas deposit release chain reaction.
How about just pray?
Congressman Billybob
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The Highway Department from Oregon should be hired to blow it up. Remember the job they did on the beached whale? Oh, yeah, definitely hire them.
The infamous exploding whale. See it here:
http://www.perp.com/whale/video.html
I'd watch that one on pay-per-view!
What a shame it's not off the french coast...we could call it lend lease and forget it.
Actually I remember last year, the U.S. forces got about 1,000 tons of Iraqi explosives into one bigpile so they could be destroyed and they let a Fox New reporter press the button to blow them up. Just think, one kiloton, it was a blast (pun intended) to watch, there was even a mushroom cloud. Pretty cool, Beavis...... B-)
Actually I remember last year, the U.S. forces got about 1,000 tons of Iraqi explosives into one bigpile so they could be destroyed and they let a Fox New reporter press the button to blow them up. Just think, one kiloton, it was a blast (pun intended) to watch, there was even a mushroom cloud. Pretty cool, Beavis...... B-)
Sorry about the double post, for some reason, I clicked twice but it seemed my message didn't post. Again my apologies, we will now resume normal programming. B-)
ping
Correct, BB. Those munitions are probably waterlogged, and any shell casing would have long ago corroded.
Just my opinion but I'd rather evacuate the city on purpose and repair the damage from a controlled demo shot than bury the victims and then repair the city in an accidental detonation......
Nice lure. Brits wanna see if anybody trys to explore it.
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