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Richard Montgomery
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Jim Hawkins
May 14, 2012, 5:06:56 PM5/14/12
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This WW2 US liberty ship has been the subject of various official reports
since it ran aground in the Thames estuary in 1943 and broke its back.
About half its cargo of assorted bombs was salvaged, mostly from the rear
half of the wreck. But the front half sank before it could be unloaded.
It is still sitting on the seabed with some thousand tons of explosive on
board.
Although both MoD and US explosives experts concluded in 1980 that it would
by then be safe for explosive ordnance divers to remove the
remaining ornance, the HSE and port authorities decided against, apparently
on the grounds that it could, with reasonable safely, be left alone.
Since then an exclusion zone has been in place around the wreck and the area
is said to be under surveillance.
Should that mass of high explosive ever detonate, it would cause major
air blast damage to Sheerness and the surrounding area, and also cause
impact damage from flying metal fragments of the ship.
Whilst the chances of an accidental detonation are now remote, the wreck
must be assumed to be a likely target for terrorists, especially during the
forthcoming Olympics..
While there may be contingency plans to prevent boats approaching the wreck,
there exists the possibility of a hijacked aircraft being deliberately
crashed into it. An accurate strike by a large aircraft would have a high
probability of initiating high-order detonation.
I hope the possibility has been foreseen and appropriate action taken.
Jim Hawkins
since it ran aground in the Thames estuary in 1943 and broke its back.
About half its cargo of assorted bombs was salvaged, mostly from the rear
half of the wreck. But the front half sank before it could be unloaded.
It is still sitting on the seabed with some thousand tons of explosive on
board.
Although both MoD and US explosives experts concluded in 1980 that it would
by then be safe for explosive ordnance divers to remove the
remaining ornance, the HSE and port authorities decided against, apparently
on the grounds that it could, with reasonable safely, be left alone.
Since then an exclusion zone has been in place around the wreck and the area
is said to be under surveillance.
Should that mass of high explosive ever detonate, it would cause major
air blast damage to Sheerness and the surrounding area, and also cause
impact damage from flying metal fragments of the ship.
Whilst the chances of an accidental detonation are now remote, the wreck
must be assumed to be a likely target for terrorists, especially during the
forthcoming Olympics..
While there may be contingency plans to prevent boats approaching the wreck,
there exists the possibility of a hijacked aircraft being deliberately
crashed into it. An accurate strike by a large aircraft would have a high
probability of initiating high-order detonation.
I hope the possibility has been foreseen and appropriate action taken.
Jim Hawkins
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