[Glenn.]

ANTI-TERROR cops are on high alert to stop fanatics attacking a bomb-laden shipwreck in the Thames estuary, The Sun can reveal.



Crack amphibious specialists are ready to defend the SS Richard Montgomery – which experts say would flood vast swathes of the South East if its dangerous cargo was exploded by jihadists.

The American World War Two ship – dubbed the Doomsday Boat – contains 1,400 tonnes of unexploded munitions and lies in shallow waters off the Kent coast.

Ministers have revealed round-the-clock radar and video surveillance is watching the wreck to provide an early warning system against a devastating attack.
Suspicious signs trigger alerts to the Coastguard and Kent Police, who have a specially-trained marine force.

They can also call in support from the South East Counter Terrorism Unit if required.

A New Scientist report in 2004 warned the ship would create one of the largest non-nuclear blasts ever seen if it exploded, causing more than £1 billion of damage.

It would devastate the nearby port of Sheerness and engulf the Isle of Sheppey which is home to almost 40,000 people.

Experts say it would also create a “tsunami-like wave” which would sweep up the River Medway, flooding thousands more homes and ruining towns and villages.

Towns like Gravesend, Canvey Island and Southend could also be badly affected.

A security source said: “Terrorists could create a lot of damage for very little effort if they blew this thing up. It is no surprise the ship has been branded a ‘disaster waiting to happen’.”

Details of the anti-terror measures were slipped out by Transport Minister Robert Goodwill last week as MPs debated extending anti-IS bombing raids into Syria.

In a written Parliamentary question, local MP Gordon Henderson asked: “What steps he is taking to monitor the security of the SS Richard Montgomery and prevent terror attacks on it?”

Mr Goodwill replied: “Medway Port Authority, which guards the wreck under contract to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, provides: 24 hour surveillance of the wreck, both visually and by radar; patrols of the area around the wreck; and an initial response to any potential incursions into the prohibited area.

“Incursions, and incidents likely to result in an incursion, are reported immediately to the Police and to HM Coastguard so that appropriate specialist support can be provided.”

Ministers have spent years grappling with what to do about the dangerous cargo, which lies in 50ft of shallow water about 1.2 miles off the coast.

SS Richard Montgomery sank on August 1944 after grounding on a sandbank en route to deliver munitions to the UK and France.

Its masts are still visible and it is supposed to be protected by a 500m exclusion zone.

But fears it could be easily targeted by terrorists deepened in June when a paddleboarder posted photos online of him posing alongside the wreck.

If that thing goes off, I'm a goner