The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

maintains a number of its

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and sufficiently working as to be reactivated quickly in an emergency. In some cases (for instance, at the outset of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

), many ships were successfully reactivated at a considerable savings in time and money. The usual fate of ships in the reserve fleet, though, is to become too old and obsolete to be of any use, at which point they are sold for scrapping or are scuttled in weapons tests. In rare cases, the general public may intercede for ships from the reserve fleet that are about to be scrapped – usually asking for the Navy to donate them for use as museum ships, memorials, or

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many ...

Administration

In November 1976, the controlling organization was the Inactive Ship Division of the Naval Ship Systems Command. As of 2011, the controlling organization actually appears to be the Inactive Ships Management Office of the Program Executive Officer - Ships, Naval Sea Systems Command, Portsmouth, Virginia. Merchant ships held in reserve are managed as part of the separate

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

within MARAD (

US Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. D ...

). Several of its sites, such as at Suisun Bay in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, are also used to store regular Navy ships.

Maintenance categories

Ships placed in the reserve fleets are categorized depending on priority, funding and the planned disposition. Category B Ships in this category are prioritized over the other categories when it comes to maintenance and funding. They are retained for possible future mobilization and will receive updates and upgrades as funding permits. Category C These are ships that will be maintained as-is; meaning no updates or improvements unless funding becomes available after that assigned for category B ships has been exhausted. Category D Temporary state pending planned usage by the Navy, will be maintained as-is. Category X Ships stricken from the Naval Vessel Register awaiting disposal. Receives no maintenance except ships on donation hold, which undergo dehumidification and

cathodic protection Cathodic protection (CP; ) is a technique used to control the corrosion of a metal surface by making it the cathode of an electrochemical cell. A simple method of protection connects the metal to be protected to a more easily corroded "sacrific ...

. Category Z This category is for nuclear-powered ships and related support ships pending disposal.

History

Around 1912, the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and the Pacific Reserve Fleet were established as reserve units with still operating ships, but on a greatly reduced schedule. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, with hundreds of ships no longer needed by a peacetime navy, each fleet consisted of a number of groups corresponding to storage sites, each adjacent to a shipyard for easier reactivation. For example, was underway for

Green Cove Springs Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the porti ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, on 11 April 1945. ''Brock'' arrived there on 13 April 1945, and joined the Florida Group, 16th Fleet, which later became the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Many of the deactivated Second World War merchant vessels were of a class called the

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

which was a mass-produced ocean-going transport used primarily in the convoys going to/from the U.S., Europe, and Russia. These Liberty Ships were also used as the navy's support vessel for its fleet of warships and to ferry forces across the Pacific and Atlantic. It was a race between how fast the U.S. could build these ships and how fast the German U-Boats could sink them, and the Liberty Ship was significant in maintaining the beleaguered

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Most of these Liberty Ships when deactivated were put into "mothball fleets" strategically located around the coasts of the U.S, or sold into commercial service. They began to be deactivated and scrapped in the early 1970s.

Atlantic Reserve Fleet

Vice Admirals

Herbert F. Leary Herbert Fairfax Leary (May 31, 1885 – December 3, 1957) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of vice admiral. A son of Rear Admiral Richard P. Leary, he distinguished himself during World War I while on the st ...

and Thomas C. Kinkaid served as Commanders, Sixteenth Fleet, after World War II. Sixteenth Fleet later became the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. The groups of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet were at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Charleston,

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

MOTBY Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY) was a U.S. military ocean terminal located in the Port of New York and New Jersey which operated from 1967 to 1999. From 1942 to 1967 the site was the Bayonne Naval Drydock. The site is on Upper New Yor ...

/ New York Harbor,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet

The Nineteenth Fleet became the Pacific Reserve Fleet. The groups of the Pacific Reserve Fleet were at

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

, Columbia River,

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Mare Island Mare Island ( Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, Stockton, Tacoma, and

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

(Budd Inlet).

List of current USN reserve fleets

James River Reserve Fleet

The

James River Reserve Fleet The James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) is located on the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia at () near Fort Eustis. James River Reserve Fleet, a "ghost fleet,", is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The Reserve Fleet ships in s ...

consists of six decommissioned

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

auxiliaries and

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s anchored in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

's James River near

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

. The fleet originally consisted of about 60 ships, most of which were gradually towed away for scrapping. As of 1 July 2014, the Reserve Fleet consisted of the following vessels (AK = Auxiliary Cargo Ship, AGS = Auxiliary Surveying Ship): *—training use *—training use *—logistics support *—logistics support *—training vessel. Prior to being mothballed and re-purposed to a training vessel, from January 1981 to 12 September 2012, it served as a

NASA recovery ship The NASA recovery ships are two ships, the and the , that were tasked with retrieving spent Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) following the launch of Space Shuttle missions. Although owned by NASA, the ships were operated by Space Flight Operations c ...

for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

solid rocket boosters A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a large solid propellant motor used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, SLS and space shuttle, have used SRBs to giv ...

after launch and was used to transport the external fuel tank from the production facility to Cape Canaveral's and

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

's pre-launch assembly locations. MV Freedom Star Call sign: KRFB was also loaned out during this time to NOAA for their oceanic research, when not in use for space launch parts transportation and/or post launch SBR recovery missions
Wikimedia Commons Gallery of images of MV Freedom Star

Suisun Bay

A similar fleet, the National Defense Reserve Fleet, is anchored in Suisun Bay near Benicia, California, and has similarly been reduced. This location is known for hosting the ''

Glomar Explorer ''GSF Explorer'', formerly USNS ''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' (T-AG-193), was a deep-sea drillship platform built for Project Azorian, the secret 1974 effort by the United States Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division to recove ...

'' after its recovery of portions of

Soviet Submarine K-129 Soviet submarine ''K-129'' may refer to one or both of the following submarines of the Soviet Navy: * , a (Project 629) diesel-electric ballistic missile submarine that sank in March 1968; partially salvaged by the United States Navy by ''Glomar ...

during the Cold War before its subsequent reactivation as a minerals exploration ship.

Beaumont

The Beaumont Reserve Fleet, anchored in the

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, ...

near Beaumont, Texas, contains a number of transport ships.

Former fleets

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Boston The South Boston Naval Annex was a United States Navy shipyard annex located in South Boston, Massachusetts, South Boston. It was the annex of the Boston Navy Yard, and was operational from the 1920 to 1974, when it was closed along with the mai ...

* Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs also called

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida #REDIRECT Naval Air Station Lee Field Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs Group Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida ...

* Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Hudson River *

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London opened in 1946 at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut on the Thames River. The New London Reserve Fleet was 3 miles north of the city New London, Connecticut. Naval Submarine Base New Lo ...

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Orange United States Naval Station Orange, later Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet and US Naval Reserve Orange was major United States Navy shipyard in Orange, Texas on the Sabine River. The shipyard opened on August 24, 1940, to manage the construct ...

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Wilmington file:SS John W Brown.jpg, A Liberty ship, the most common ship stored at the Wilmington Reserve Fleet Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Wilmington was part of the United States Navy reserve fleets in Wilmington, North Carolina at . The reserve fleet was at ...

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk USS ''Albany'' (CG-10) laid up at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1983 Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk was a part of the United States Navy reserve fleets, also called a ''mothball fleet'', and was used to store the many surplus ships after Worl ...

then a NISMF *

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Charleston Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...

* Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia now a NISMF site * Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New York * Pacific Reserve Fleet, Astoria also called

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Naval Air Station Tongue Point is a former United States Navy air station which was located within the former U.S. Naval Station Tongue Point, Astoria, Oregon. In 1919, the United States Congress approved the construction of a submarine and destro ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Stockton The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Hunters Point #REDIRECT Hunters Point Naval Shipyard The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city. Originally, Hunters Poi ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Olympia Pacific Reserve Fleet, Olympia was part of the United States Navy reserve fleets in Budd Inlet in Puget Sound off North Olympia, Washington at . The Reserve Fleet was opened in 1946 to store the many surplus ships after World War II. The ''moth ...

* Pacific Reserve Fleet, Mare Island *

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Alameda docked in former Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Alameda Pacific Reserve Fleet, Alameda was a part of the United States Navy reserve fleets, also called a ''mothball fleet'', that was used to store the many surplus ships after World War II. The Pacific ...

* Pacific Reserve Fleet, Bremerton * Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego *

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (also operating as Todd Pacific) was an American corporation which built escort carriers, destroyers, cargo ships and auxiliaries for the United States Navy and merchant marine during World War II i ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Francisco #REDIRECT San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Francisco Group Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Francisco ...

Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facilities

A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate. All ships in these facilities are inactive, but some are still on the Naval Vessel Register, while others have been struck from that Register.

Philadelphia

The

Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is a facility owned by the United States Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate. All ships in these facilities are inactive, but s ...

holds several dozen inactive warships, including the aircraft carrier ,

Ticonderoga class cruiser The ''Ticonderoga'' class of guided-missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in the 1978 fiscal year. The class uses passive phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of d ...

Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate The ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' class is a class of guided-missile frigates named after U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie. Also known as the ''Perry'' or FFG-7 (commonly "fig seven") class, the warships we ...

s, and numerous supply ships.

Bremerton

The

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

, located next to

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

, hosts, among its other ships two dozen decommissioned submarines, several frigates, and numerous supply ships. It is the former home of the nuclear cruiser , which was scrapped.

Pearl Harbor

The Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, holds logistic support ships and amphibious transport dock ships.

Ready Reserve Force

*The

Ready Reserve Force The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

(RRF) is a subset of ships in MARAD's National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF). Ready Reserve Force supports the rapid worldwide deployment of U.S. military forces.maritime.dot.gov, Ready Reserve Force
/ref>

References

External links

Records of the Reserve Fleet

Satellite photo of the Suisun Bay Reserve FleetAdventures in the Abandoned Ships of Suisun BaySatellite photo of the Neches River Reserve FleetSatellite photo of the James River Reserve FleetSatellite photo of the Puget Sound Reserve Fleet
{{US Navy navbox

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

Reserve fleets