Resolve Marine Begins Removing Masts from the Richard Montgomery Wreck

Maritime solutions company Resolve Marine has begun work to remove the three steel masts still protruding from the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery, a World War II Liberty ship that sank in 1944 in the Thames Estuary with approximately 1,400 tonnes of munitions on board. The UK Department for Transport (DfT) appointed Resolve Marine in April 2026 to carry out this engineering operation, valued at £9.5 million.

The Richard Montgomery ran aground on a sandbank in August 1944 while carrying munitions for Allied forces in Europe, in a position located around 50 miles east of London according to one source. Salvage crews at the time removed about half of the cargo before the hull flooded and broke apart, forcing the original operation to be abandoned. Since then, annual surveys have documented the hull's structural deterioration, including movement in the bow section, amid growing concern that the increasingly unstable masts could collapse onto the cargo holds.

The current operation involves cutting and lifting the three masts using divers and engineers working under strict safety protocols, following extensive technical assessments and independent expert reviews aimed at ensuring the stability of the wreck and the safety of personnel, nearby communities and shipping traffic. According to UK authorities, the project does not at any point involve removing the explosives that remain in the vessel's forward holds.

Resolve Marine's project director, Sam Adams, described the mast removal as a unique and highly specialised marine engineering project requiring meticulous planning, rigorous risk management and exceptional technical expertise. UK Maritime Minister Keir Mather, for his part, noted that the SS Richard Montgomery is one of the world's most extraordinary wrecks, a fragment of wartime history that has remained in the Thames Estuary for more than 80 years, and that the start of the mast removal marks a moment of great significance.

Once removed, the masts will be preserved onshore for public display; one source specified that they will be taken to the Historic Dockyard Chatham for conservation before being put on display in Kent. The exclusion zone surrounding the wreck will remain in place after the operation concludes, while authorities continue to describe the possibility of a major detonation as remote. The project is part of the British government's long-term strategy to manage the risks at the site while preserving a significant chapter of Anglo-American maritime history.