SS Richard Montgomery Masts Lifted in $13 Million Operation
Resolve Marine Group removed the ship's three masts to prevent collapse, while 1,500 tons of WWII munitions remain submerged in the Thames Estuary.
By Tyler Khalil ·
Crews completed the removal of three rusting masts from the SS Richard Montgomery on October 23, 2026, at a cost of just under $13 million. The operation was designed to eliminate the structural risk of the masts collapsing onto the ship's cargo, which contains an estimated 1,500 tons of World War II explosives. The munitions themselves remain undisturbed in the wreck's holds.
The Montgomery, one of approximately 2,700 vessels built in the United States to support the Allied war effort, ran aground on a sandbar off Sheerness in August 1944. Located about 40 miles from London, the ship was carrying munitions intended for use after the D-Day landings. The vessel broke apart during initial salvage attempts and sank, leaving the explosives trapped beneath the waterline.
Nolan Conway, a naval architect with Resolve Marine Group, the firm responsible for the project, explained that recent surveys indicated the structure was deteriorating and beginning to lean. He stated that the primary concern was that the masts could fall onto the cargo, potentially triggering a detonation. Conway noted that some of the munitions are believed to have pressure fuses, meaning an impact could set them off.
To address the challenge of removing the masts without shaking the wreck, Conway’s team constructed a custom lifting frame to raise each mast vertically without swaying. They utilized a remotely operated underwater diamond-wire saw, which clamped around the masts using hydraulic arms. This method allowed for precise cutting without requiring divers to enter the water.
U.K. maritime minister Keir Mather informed the House of Commons that the project was completed ahead of schedule and within budget. He described the masts as having placed a significant load on the structure, and their removal reduces the risk to the site. The government maintains an exclusion zone approximately 1.5 miles off the Sheerness coast, and Mather said continuous monitoring will continue through that area.
Experts disagree on the potential consequences of a detonation, with estimates ranging from shoreline damage to a tidal wave traveling up the Thames. Conway described the range of impacts as large, noting that none of the outcomes are ideal, though officials judge the overall chance of an explosion to be low. The three masts have been moved to the Historic Dockyard Chatham museum, where they will be displayed to acknowledge the ship's role in supporting Allied forces during the war.
