The unexploded “doomsday wreck” from World War II residing in the River Thames are ringing alarm bells as experts suggest that they could explode at any time and trigger a dangerous tsunami in the historic river.
In 1944, the American cargo ship, SS Richard Montgomery, sank in the Thames at a time when it was carrying over 6,000 tons of explosives.
The accident pushed most of these explosives into the river while nearly 1,400 tons remain onboard the wreck and now sits at the top of River Thames unexploded.
The latest reports suggest that the ship’s wreck is collapsing, which puts renewed pressure on the British government to act immediately to deal with the “doomsday wreck” safely before it’s too late.
In the worst-case scenario, the explosion at the Thames could trigger a dangerous tsunami and cause trouble for mainland London. Previous studies have suggested that debris could go as high as 3,000 meters while water could rise up to 5 meters if all of these explosive devices are blown at once.
The Thames runs through central London, passing by many famous landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, and the London Eye.
According to the study conducted by David Alexander, who is a professor at the University College London, the wreckage is present within 200 meters of major shipping routes, which also carry critical and important supplies like Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).
These ships can sometimes be five stories high, which essentially means that they can collide with the wreck to trigger a catastrophe, Alexander added.
He recalled a previous incident when Mare Altum, a ship from Denmark carrying chemicals, was about to collide with the wreck when authorities finally mobilized and barely stopped the collision, which could have resulted in a dangerous accident. It happened in May 1980, just days after another British ship came within a 15-meter radius of the wreck.
Alexander was also worried that the presence of unexploded bombs in the river could help terrorists exploit the situation to stage a massive attack on an important city.
Similarly, David Welch, who has previously served in the Royal Navy, noted that the wreck is disintegrating fast and the explosives on board are also falling quickly, which should immediately mobilize authorities to take swift action.
Welch advised the government to deal with the issue quickly as the wreck will potentially decay in the upcoming years, and the explosives will not be as easy to collect as they are now.
