Prep begins before masts cut from explosive wreck

Preparations are under way for the removal of masts from an explosives-filled World War Two ship in the Thames Estuary.

Vessels have been seen near the SS Richard Montgomery wreck site, which has been visible from Kent and Essex since the US military vessel sank in 1944.

The Department for Transport previously confirmed work would start in September to remove the masts in case they fell on to and detonated 1,400 tonnes of explosives that remain within the ship.

The salvage project, first announced in 2020, is expected to cost £9.5m.

Robin Nixon, who can see the masts from his home on the Isle of Sheppey, has begun livestreaming preparatory works online.

He said he had "got hold of a good telescope for this but it wasn't powerful enough", so had used "AI image enhancement" to zoom in closer.

"I wanted to watch the works myself and, because I'm a hobbyist, everybody else gets a chance to watch it as well," he told the BBC.

Nixon, who has self-published a book about the wreck, said the masts were "a landmark and very recognisable", adding that salvage workers appeared to be "really getting ready now" to begin removal.

"Finally we've got to the masts, at least, being removed," he said.

Engineers will work underwater to cut the masts off the shipwreck.

The artefacts will be conserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard after a campaign for them to stay in Kent, as they technically remained property of the US government.

The shipwreck, which has become a draw for tourists, is located about 1.5 miles (2.4km) off the coast of Sheerness.

Efforts to salvage the cargo vessel, known as a Liberty ship, in 1944 were abandoned when it flooded about a month after it ran aground.

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