The United Kingdom is concerned about the threat of an explosion associated with the American cargo ship “Richard Montgomery“, which sank in the River Sheerness in Kent during World War II, reports The Telegraph.
The ship was carrying 1,400 tons of explosives to France - high-explosive general-purpose bombs, fragmentation bombs designed to spread shrapnel over large areas, and incendiary devices, including white phosphorus bombs.
Half of the ammunition was removed during salvage operations shortly after the ship ran aground. However, the rest of the cargo remained on board and sank along with The explosives have been left untouched over fears that a new salvage operation could detonate them.
In the summer of 2025, planes were banned from flying over the wreckage due to concerns that hostile nations, including Iran, could be planning an attack.
A strike on the Richard Montgomery could cause "massive damage and death", triggering a 5-metre tsunami towards Kent, Essex and Britain's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Isle of Grain, the British government has warned.
Any explosion would cause flooding in north Kent and south Essex. Flood defences would be ineffective. Due to the threat, restrictions were extended this week, with shipping also banned from the area around the wreckage to allow a new survey of the ship.
„The Wall Street Journal“ previously reported that Iran had fired missiles at the joint US-British base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean (4,000 km from Iran). None of the missiles reached their target: one was damaged, and another was intercepted by a US SM-3 warship, demonstrating the unexpected range of Iranian weapons.
The UK Ministry of Defence condemned Iran for its attacks on the Persian Gulf states and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, calling them a threat to British interests. London confirmed the US permission to use the Diego Garcia base for defensive operations, but neither denied nor confirmed the missile strike.