Reserve fleet

Last updated May 18, 2023

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". In earlier times, especially in British usage, the ships were said to be "laid up in ordinary".

Overview

Such ships are held in reserve against a time when it may be necessary to call them back into service. They are usually tied up in backwater areas near naval bases or shipyards in order to speed the reactivation process. They may be modified for storage during such a period, for instance by having rust-prone areas sealed off or wrapped in plastic or, in the case of sailing warships, the masts removed. While being held in the reserve fleet, ships typically have a minimal crew (known informally as a skeleton crew) to ensure that they stay in somewhat usable condition. For instance, bilge pumps need to be run regularly to reduce corrosion of their steel and to prevent the ships from foundering at their moorings.

When a ship is placed into reserve status, the various parts and weapon systems that the ship uses are also placed in a storage facility, so that if the warship is reactivated, the proper spare parts and ammunition are available. Like the ships, however, the stored parts and equipment are prone to fall into disrepair, suffer metal corrosion, and become obsolete.

Principal reserve fleets

The British Reserve Fleet was a repository for British decommissioned warships from about 1800 until 1960.^[5]

The United States National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF), consisted of about fifty World War II ships that were moored in Suisun Bay (Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet) near San Francisco since the 1950s or '60s.^[6] The fleet included military cargo ships, troopships and tankers.^[6] As of mid-2021 there are just two ships anchored in that area. Additional NDRF vessels are moored at the fleet sites at Newport News, Virginia (James River Reserve Fleet); Beaumont, Texas (Beaumont Reserve Fleet); and at designated outported berths.

Alternatives

In practice most reserve ships rapidly become obsolete and are scrapped, used for experiments, target practice, sold to other nations (and occasionally to private companies for civilian conversion), become museum ships or artificial reefs.

Alternatives to reserve fleets include exporting the vessels for shipbreaking, or dismantling.^[7] More recently, the U.S. Navy has established a program to allow ships, such as Oriskany, to be sunk in selected locations to create artificial reefs.

Recycling is another option, as in the case of the United States National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF), the ships of which are set to be stripped of their paint, cut into pieces, and then recycled.^[6]

Steel from pre-nuclear age ships either mothballed or sunk and raised, called low-background steel, is used in experimental physics when the experiment requires shielding material which is itself only extremely weakly radioactive, emitting less than present-day background radiation; materials which were manufactured after atmospheric nuclear explosions had taken place reflect the higher ambient level of radioactivity that fallout has caused.^[8]

Environmental concerns

The practice of exporting and dismantling ships has caused international protests as they contain toxic materials.^[7] In 2007, following studies that found that 20 tons of lead paint had flaked off the ships of the NDRF, environmentalist groups sued to have them removed. The U.S. Federal Maritime Administration agreed to remove more than 50 of the ships as a result, 25 of which have been removed by 2012 and the remainder removed at the end of 2017.^[6]

Related Research Articles

The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships 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.

Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the entrance to the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta. To the west, Suisun Bay is drained by the Carquinez Strait, which connects to San Pablo Bay, a northern extension of San Francisco Bay. Suisun Marsh, the tidal marsh land to the north, is the largest marsh in California. Grizzly Bay forms a northern extension of Suisun Bay. Suisun Bay is directly north of Contra Costa County.

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

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 some are still on the Naval Vessel Register (NVR), while others have been struck from that Register.

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.

SS Mission Loreto was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission Loreto (AO-116). Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission Loreto (T-AO-116). She was a Mission Buenaventura-class oiler and was named for Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, located in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico, considered the "Head and Mother of all the California Missions."

SS Mission San Jose was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission San Jose. Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission San Jose. She was a Mission Buenaventura-class oiler and was named for Mission San José, located in Fremont, California.

SS Mission San Luis Rey was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission San Luis Rey (AO-128). Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission San Luis Rey (T-AO-128). She was a Mission Buenaventura-class oiler and was named for Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, located in Oceanside, California.

USNS Comet (T-AK-269), later T-LSV-7, later T-AKR-7, later SS Comet, is a vehicle landing ship built for the United States Navy. The lone ship of her class, she is named for the comet, and is the fourth U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

USS Kern (AOG-2) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations.

USS Chestatee (AOG-49) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 and with the Military Sea Transportation Service from 1952 and 1956. From 1957 to 1962, she was lent to the United States Air Force. She was sold for scrap in 1975.

USS Maquoketa (AOG-51) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1947 and with the Military Sea Transportation Service from 1952 to 1957. She was sold for scrap in 1975.

USNS Private Leonard C. Brostrom (T-AK–255) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy that was converted into a heavy lift cargo ship in the early 1950s. She was built in 1943 for the United States Maritime Commission as SS Marine Eagle, a Type C4-S-B1 tank carrier, by Sun Shipbuilding during World War II. In 1948, she was transferred to the United States Army as USAT Private Leonard C. Brostrom after Leonard C. Brostrom, a recipient of the Medal of Honor. In 1950, the ship was transferred to the Military Sea Transport Service of the U.S. Navy as a United States Naval Ship staffed by a civilian crew. After ending her naval service, she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet in October 1980 and was sold for scrapping in June 1982.

SS Diamond State (T-ACS-7) is a crane ship in the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NRDF) for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the state of Delaware, which is also known as the "Diamond State". The ship was initially a bulk freighter named SS Japan Mail when launched in 1961 and entered service in 1962 with the American Mail Line. In 1971, the ship was lengthened and renamed SS President Truman. In 1987, the vessel was taken over by MARAD and converted to a crane ship and in 1989, renamed Diamond State.

SS Green Mountain State (T-ACS-9) is a crane ship in ready reserve for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the state of Vermont, which is also known as the Green Mountain State.

The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet colloquially known as the mothball fleet, is located on the northwest side of Suisun Bay in Benicia, California. The fleet is within a regulated navigation area that is about 4+1⁄2 miles long and 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) wide. It begins just north of the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge and runs northeast, parallel to the shoreline. Water depths range from about 46 feet at Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) at the foot of the anchorage, to about 26 feet (8 m) MLLW at the shallowest berths towards the northern end of the anchorage. As of December 2022, eight ships remain in the fleet.

The Hudson River Reserve Fleet, formally the Hudson River National Defense Reserve Fleet and popularly the Mothball Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946 as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. It was first located off Tarrytown, New York, on the Hudson River, one of eight anchorages in the United States to provide a sizable reserve of merchant ships to support any military need arising.

The SS Alamo Victory was the 42nd Victory ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. She was launched by the California Shipbuilding Company on July 13, 1944, and completed on August 18, 1944. The ship’s United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2- S- AP3, hull number 42 (V-32), she worked as merchant marine for all of her career. SS Alamo Victory served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II and was operated by the Isthmian Steamship Company. The 10,500-ton Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier Liberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used just for World War II. Victory ships were designed to last longer and serve the US Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were: faster, longer and wider, taller, had a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure, and had a long raised forecastle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Naval Station Orange</span> US Navy Shipyard in Texas

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 construction of 24 landing craft. To support the shipyards the navy built new naval offices, barracks and civilian housing. The Navy built twelve piers in the Sabine River at the Base. U.S. Naval Station Orange also worked with the civilian shipyards in Texas during World War II. Major civilian shipyards were: Consolidated Steel Corporation, Levingston Shipbuilding Company, and Weaver Shipyards. At the end of the war in November 1945 the shipyard was closed and the base was turned into the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet with 250 ships.

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 storage, called "mothballed", that can be ready for use if needed. Many are awaiting scrapping due to the age or condition of the ship. Some ships are used for target practice or as artificial reefs. A few ships became museum ships and other sold to private companies. Ships can be readied for use in 20 to 120 days during national emergencies or natural disaster. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) provides oversight of the James River Reserve Fleet. For the United States Navy ships the United States Navy reserve fleets stored these ships and submarines.

References

↑ "Nuclear 'ghost' to leave James River Reserve Fleet". Daily Press. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
↑ "Russia relies on 'shadow fleets' to save oil exports - UK Daily News". 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
↑ "Analysis | What We Know About the Shadow Fleet Handling Putin's Oil". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-03-07.
↑ Chambers, Sam (2023-02-23). "Splash investigation pinpoints the true scale of the shadow tanker fleet". Splash247. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
↑ "Reserve Fleet 1950". British Pathe. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
1 2 3 4 Wollan, Malia (March 31, 2010). "California: Good-Bye to Ghost Fleet". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
1 2 US Toxic 'ghost fleet' not wanted in the UK, Greenpeace International website (November 5, 2003) accessed at June 20, 2006
↑ Timothy P. Lynch (August 2007). "A Historically Significant Shield for In Vivo Measurements". Health Physics. 93 (2): S119–23. doi:10.1097/01.HP.0000259867.85459.b2. PMID 17630635. S2CID 33969697.

v t e Life cycle of a Navy ship
Service life	Ceremonial ship launching lists by year Ship commissioning lists by year
After decommissioning	Reserve fleet Ship breaking Hulk Ship-Submarine Recycling Program Retrofitting Scuttling or Target ship Museum ship