The SS Richard Montgomery

[LancsGordoRoad]

HGM is prepared to pay £5 million to have the rusting masts of the sunken ship, off Sheerness, to be taken down/removed. As most will know, there`s a significant quantity of explosives in the holds of the ship and there`s an exclusion zone around it.

At a time when money is a bit tight and there are plenty of people not doing "ordinary" work, I wonder how many takers there might be ? Just how many saws can you get into a small dinghy..

Can anyone offer up their services or suggest or recommend others that might be interested in such a task ? Five million quid ! I can think of some who`d do it for far far less..........

 

[LSB2]

I'll do it for £4M. I have a rechargeable jigsaw, so won't even need to run a cable from the Isle of Sheppy :-)

 

[shotshy]

The ****** at Headcorn will do it for the scrap

 

[RotherhitheGill]

What's happening about the cargo (all those f******* bombs etc)?

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

The ****** at Headcorn will do it for the scrap

I was waiting for that one, shotshy ; you were three or four minutes later than i`d anticipated

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

What's happening about the cargo (all those f******* bombs etc)?

I`m wondering whether people at HGM thought: "Well let`s just cut the bloody masts down - out of sight, out of mind - problem over - simples"

 

[GRSGimmer]

I am certain our resident experts will know the best way of doing this.

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

Perhaps the Gills` back four could help out with this one, they`re used to dealing with high crosses. Club could do with the money.

 

[Billy_Bleach]

Give it a few days and there will be a thread on here:

' N/G Does anyone know the best tool for cutting off a rusting mast from a WW2 US warship? - WxGill '

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

Give it a few days and there will be a thread on here:

' N/G Does anyone know the best tool for cutting off a rusting mast from a WW2 US warship? - WxGill '

If we could wait a couple of days, Billy, that would be good. Especially as we`ve far from exhausted candidates for the actual job so talk of tools is maybe a bit premature. When you start the Tools thread it`ll be interesting to discover your choice for the thread-header (not a tool , btw)...

 

[GRSGimmer]

Surely the man for the job is Dominic Cummings - he could nip over to the wreck, have a good look at it, carry out testing and report back.

 

[nitram77]

Just blow the thing up.

Sheerness???

we have the technology, we can rebuild it.

 

[Bert]

Richard Branson is the man. He wants to get into space and the SS Montgomery would help him to do it, without a rocket or a space suit.

 

[GRSGimmer]

Richard Branson is the man. He wants to get into space and the SS Montgomery would help him to do it, without a rocket or a space suit.

But he might need a loan up front before starting work.

 

[markinkent]

I'm calling the A-Team

 

[The Roone]

The odds are she won't go bang, removing the masts would indeed put it out of sight, but not out of mind. It has been there 76 years she is /was an old freighter she is settled on the seabed in two parts I believe. The main ingredient of WW2 bombs is RDX a very stable explosive, if the detonators and initiators are not present it is quite safe where it is. Better informed people than me will know for sure what the degree of safety is, but I doubt short of a catastrophic collision there is much to worry about.

 

[Jerryattrick]

The odds are she won't go bang, removing the masts would indeed put it out of sight, but not out of mind. It has been there 76 years she is /was an old freighter she is settled on the seabed in two parts I believe. The main ingredient of WW2 bombs is RDX a very stable explosive, if the detonators and initiators are not present it is quite safe where it is. Better informed people than me will know for sure what the degree of safety is, but I doubt short of a catastrophic collision there is much to worry about.

There is an official survey every year and a more detailed one when new tech comes along. According to the survey the masts are rusting badly and if they collapse onto the decks could cause an explosion.
Only a recognised competent salvage company will be given the task. Not good optics for a government employing an incompetent company which results in an explosion.

 

[EagerExile]

Just blow it up and save a few mill. With any luck, it'll take out both Sheppey and Southend (and I say that as a former Sheppey resident).

 

[Jerryattrick]

Just blow it up and save a few mill. With any luck, it'll take out both Sheppey and Southend (and I say that as a former Sheppey resident).

But we may lose a local derby!!

 

[Vambogills]

Bur what about the 30ft tsunami that would devastate north Kent and Essex? At school, all our resident experts convinced me that would be the certain outcome if anyone touched it!