The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

, 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), 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

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

ping 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 A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

, memorials, or artificial reefs.

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 The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel (not to be confused with "material") organizations. From a physical perspective, NAVSEA has four shipyards for shipbuilding, c ...

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

. Merchant ships held in reserve are managed as part of the separate National Defense Reserve Fleet 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. De ...

). Several of its sites, such as at

Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

in California, 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. 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, 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, 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 ...

, Florida, 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 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 U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

could sink them, and the Liberty Ship was significant in maintaining the beleaguered United Kingdom. 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 Thomas Cassin Kinkaid (3 April 1888 – 17 November 1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy, known for his service during World War II. He built a reputation as a "fighting admiral" in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942 and commanded t ...

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,

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, Green Cove Springs, Florida, New London,

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 York ...

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Texas.

Pacific Reserve Fleet

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

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

, Long Beach, Mare Island, San Diego, San Francisco,

Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...

, Tacoma, and Olympia, Washington (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 auxiliaries and warships anchored in Virginia's

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

near Newport News. 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 for the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters after launch and was used to transport the

external fuel tank The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) was the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contained the liquid hydrogen Rocket propellant, fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplied the fuel and oxidizer und ...

from the production facility to

Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

's and Kennedy Space Center's pre-launch assembly locations. MV Freedom Star Call sign: KRFB was also loaned out during this time to

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

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

near

Benicia, California Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...

, and has similarly been reduced. This location is known for hosting the '' Glomar Explorer'' 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 The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

before its subsequent reactivation as a minerals exploration ship.

Beaumont

The

Beaumont Reserve Fleet The Beaumont Reserve Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946, as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF). The fleet is located in Beaumont, Texas. History In 1946, the US Government excavated 24 million cubic yards of s ...

, 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 Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...

, contains a number of transport ships.

Former fleets

* Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Boston *

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs Atlantic Reserve Fleet Florida in 1947 Naval Air Station Lee Field was a United States Navy air base that opened on September 11, 1940, in Green Cove Springs, Florida to support the World War II efforts. The Air Station was on the St. Johns Riv ...

also called 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 *

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Wilmington 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 and overflowed out of t ...

* Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk then a NISMF * Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Charleston *

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia, Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street (Philadelphia), Front Street and Federal Street in wha ...

now a NISMF site *

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New York 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 York ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Astoria #REDIRECT Naval Air Station Tongue Point 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 t ...

also called Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River * Pacific Reserve Fleet, Stockton * Pacific Reserve Fleet, Hunters Point *

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 ''mothb ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Mare Island The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy naval base, base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and s ...

* Pacific Reserve Fleet, Alameda *

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Bremerton #REDIRECT Naval Station Bremerton Naval Station Bremerton is a former station of the United States Navy that was merged with Naval Submarine Base Bangor into Naval Base Kitsap in 2004. Kitsap serves as host command for the Navy's fleet throughout ...

Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego USS ''Galveston'', last ship to depart the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego was a part of the United States Navy reserve fleets, also called a ''mothball fleet'', was used to store the many surplus ships after W ...

* Pacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach * Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma * 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 Philadelphia

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 cruisers, Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates, and numerous supply ships.

Bremerton

The

at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, located next to Bremerton, Washington, 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 fleets