Port of Sheerness in Kent is contracted by UK Government to monitor England's most dangerous shipwreck - SS Richard Montgomery located in the Thames - 24 hours a day via radar and visual surveillance.

Today (February 19) a vessel called Medway Hunter was seen guarding the wreck due to a planned IT outage at the port.

The Montgomery sank in 1944 with an estimated 1400 tonnes of explosives onboard. Under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, an exclusion zone was created around the wreck, which vessels are prohibited from entering.

Some functions at Sheerness - such as Medway VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) - are remotely managed by owners Peel Ports from a control room in Liverpool.

Due to planned IT maintenance between 10.30am and 4pm today, the port issued a 'Notice to Mariners' advising:

"The multi-cat vessel ‘Medway Hunter’ will be stationed adjacent to the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery during this period to maintain visibility and enforcement requirements for the wreck’s exclusion zone".

And warning: "During the outage it should be noted that Medway VTS will not have the ability to offer RADAR assistance or give vessels any live tide and meteorological data."