Where is the mothball fleet located

The majority of vessels stored in the facility were of the Liberty class , some of them built in Wilmington. Over the years many were scrapped, sold to private concerns, sunk for artificial reefs , or recommissioned. Morrow , which was scrapped in February Steelman, Ben.

Hogg, Howard W. New Hanover County Public Library. Comments are not published until reviewed by NCpedia editors at the State Library of NC , and the editors reserve the right to not publish any comment submitted that is considered inappropriate for this resource.

NCpedia will not publish personal contact information in comments, questions, or responses. If you would like a reply by email, note that some email servers, such as public school accounts, are blocked from accepting messages from outside email servers or domains.

If you prefer not to leave an email address, check back at your NCpedia comment for a reply. Please allow one business day for replies from NCpedia. Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Pacific Reserve Fleet. James River Reserve Fleet. Suisun Bay. Former fleets. Located in Mallows Bay near the Maryland town of Nanjemoy, the Ghost Fleet is the largest and most varied collection of historic shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphere, spanning over three centuries of American shipbuilding.

Naval base has 19 warships in mothballs and just 16 on active service. Kennedy, which, because of its size, is moored on the Delaware River, not in the basin. Top 10 Navies in the World Nr. The US Navy is currently the most capable navy in the world. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian navy inherited its fleet from the Soviet navy.

At warship hulls, the PLAN is the largest navy in the world , counting aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, and amphibious assault ships. The U. Navy trails at hulls, Russia has 83 hulls, the U.

Russian Navy Fleet 1 aircraft carrier 1 battlecruiser 3 cruisers 15 destroyers 10 frigates 81 corvettes 20 landing ship tanks 32 landing craft 15 special-purpose ships 1 patrol ships 42 patrol boats 46 mine countermeasures vessel 3 special-purpose submarines 50 submarines.

The Military Balance states the U. Navy listed no battleships in the reserve in When the last Iowa-class ship was finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Registry, no battleships remained in service or in reserve with any navy worldwide.

A number are preserved as museum ships, either afloat or in drydock. There was an uproar on a ship going to the UK back during Bush, but that was one of the places that could dismantle the thing safely.

By the way it went from near zero give it away or get some contractor to pay for the ship to nearly 10M dollars per ship. I am not writing a thesis for you all to pull apart. Go look it up yourself. The reality is that Environmentalists pushed for new rules regarding the disposal of asbestos and other materials A good thing even to my slightly right view , but then to turn around and blame an administration for the faults of other administrations is rather interesting. Sure Bush got sued.

But where were all of the lawsuits during Clinton years? Or for that matter Johnson, Nixon, etc.. This has been an issue for a long time.

And of course the disposal rate slowed down during Bush, they had new rules to contend with, and those are still in effect. Anyway, truth be told, the photos are better with the story of how they were taken and what they saw than the political statements. If you want to be political then put up some raw data, show how many of these were disposed of during each administration, and what the cost of that was for each administration.

That would show what a real problem this is for all of us. And we the people have a hand in not pushing this issue harder and earlier. That might require critical thinking. Pingback: LinkUnderground. This is amazing!! Awesome that you guys have the balls to do this sort of adventuring. As usual these days, nonsensical liberal claptrap gets in the way of reality. What does it matter anyway?

Pingback: What price would you pay? Fun stuff. Thanks for sharing. I could not help myself and had to look at a satellite view. I have just one question, Where and How the hell did you get the pics of the Sea Shadow. That is our first Stealth ship and as far as I knew it was still a test bed. A friend of mine and I were amazed to see pics of it here on your site.

It looked like it was in some kind of dry dock, can you give us some more info on where you saw that? Did you make it inside of it? Everything you had was amazing. They would tow this barge with Sea Shadow inside out on the bay at night for testing.

The whole shebang was then moved to San Diego and then recently showed-up at the mothball fleet. I travel the Benicia Bridge often and still see the barge knowing thanks to these photographers that the Shadow is still inside docked on the side of one of the rows of ships and closest to the shore.

This is awesome. The photos are obviously cool, but the story of your seemingly narrow escape made it much cooler. I think its incredible that you stumbled upon our only stealth ship, the Sea Shadow. Its just tucked away, not talked about or advertised, top notch technology just stored in a dying ship. Thats amazing that you got to see it. I would have busted that master lock off so fast. Theres probably less than a handful of people who have had the privilege of seeing the interior.

That would be a monumental and expensive task to rig up for the relatively low likelihood of trespassers. But then it would not have been as thrilling, or made such a cool story. Are you afraid that you might be tracked down now? Those are awesome.

I grew up near there and rode a boat out to them once. I wish I had been interested in photography then. Pingback: Bag of Randomness. These guys breaking and entering into the ships have temporarily eliminated museum access to Susuin Bay Reserve Fleet. Groups have asked and been given permission for photography in the past, you probably had a pretty good chance of safe and legal access to the ships. Did you ever meet and get to know the really helpful bureaucrats that run SBRF? I have worked with them as a museum ship volunteer since and know these guys really care about their community and try to do everything they can under the law to help outside groups.

They are proud of the many non-profits not just museums that have recovered equipment, blankets, kitchen gear, etc. Millions of dollars a year of equipment is recovered from these ships before scrapping. As a result of this blog MARAD has stopped all ship visits for museums until they can re-secure every door and hatch on all the ships. They are going to change the way we work on the ships requiring more escort labor that is already in short supply.

They will spend more of their limited budget on security patrols and less on taking care of the ships. All of this is bad news for the museums and other non-profits at a time when the WW II and Korean era ships are being moved out for scrapping at a very fast pace. Museums will loose the opportunity to recover valuable equipment forever so these guys could have fun.

The photos are beautiful, the photographers had a great adventure, but they came at a very high cost to others. We are all thankful that they did not fall in an unsecured hole, or bad ladder. Legit trips to do photography, and they have approved these often in the past, are likely to be harder to come by.

We never broke a single thing. To claim that we did so is disingenuous and misleading. We are proud of what we did, because the vast majority of the ships we photographed are now gone, being melted away in Beaumont or Vallejo.

I meant breaking their rules. Within the scope of some pretty reasonable rules they have been very cooperative in the past and not just with museum groups.

I not only admit, I really appreciate that you are a great photographer and the images are beautiful. I also appreciate the beauty found in industrial settings. For example, I have worked with another great photographer Bruce Ecker to shoot panos in many interesting places. They did this out of love for their mission and of historic ships. I am also truly sorry that our trips aboard the fleet inadvertently led to access being restricted to the USS Hornet Museum, et.

The photos are lovely. But the adventure seems at least as self serving as historical. You had no intentions other than self-aggrandizement and selling illegal images. Thanks for messing up access for the rest of us. Excellent point, Rich. John, stop playing with words. Worse yet you are selling pictures and attempting to profit from it, so get down off that high horse of yours. Wow, I love your work.

My Stepfather served two years on the USS Iowa and went to the persian gulf in it before it was decommissioned. I spent a lot of time on that ship as a child. I remember one of the days My stepfather came back from sea in it, It was pouring down rain and by time we made it inside the ship I was soaked to the bone and cold.

The one thing that warmed me right up is their baskets full of Battle Chip cookies that they had on hand in the mess hall all of the time. Thanks for sharing these pictures and your story. I am US Navy Veteran. I love the pictures, I hate that the author had to bring politics into the arena. We are willing to pay to see you act, hear you sing, marvel at you photography, etc.

That is all. Please just do what you do best, and stop with the political BS!! Along with Nixon, Ford, Carter…. Take pictures, post pictures, tell about the pictures, and even your adventure obtaining them. Thank you. Pingback: Photos from the amazing "Ghost Ship" fleet Gadling.

Para Dentistas, futuros Dentistas e pacientes. Yes, you came out of the experience okay and your pictures are very good. Is a picture worth it? I know of which I speak because I am a canine search and rescue handler as well as a photographer. Nope Lynda, I am sure none of that crossed his mind. But in addition to the physical hazards, he exposed himself to some very dangerous chemical and biological hazards as well. Once they fail they push the agendas on the national stage. Lynda, this is what guys do.

We crave adventure. As a kid, I used to sneak into the mothballed Naval Ammunition Depot near Charlotte for the same reason: just to know what was there. Mom scolded but understood. Men gotta be men. Wish I could have gone on this one. Is that the best you can do? I am also a historian, archivist and WWII historian. I agree with previous posters that it is people like you who jeopardize apportunities for others who pursue legal means.

I sincerely hope you get your adventurous butt hauled into federal court yes, you were trespassing on federal property and go to a federal detention facility.

That should be a good adventure for you. And, as a nurse, after you get rescued by Lynda, you get to come and see me. Guys, not just children, crave adventure. Or for that matter the police putting you in jail for the night. There are generally good reasons that most places are off limits to the public without going through proper channels. So let me get this straight. You trespassed on Federal property, which is a felony, broke into ships took photos of the insides of these ships, wrote narration about your trespassing and then posted it to the internet.

Just how stupid are you? What you did was also incredibly dangerous and reckless. The inside of any ship, especially mothballed ships, is a very dangerous place. Since no one knew you were on those ships, because you entered them illegally, had you or any of your fellow criminals been injured, you may have DIED before help could arrive. You are no doubt aware of a little known property of steel….. And when it rusts it loses structural integrity. Suppose you stepped on a rusted ladder, fell through the ladder through a hatch below it and fell another deck onto sharp, rusted debris.

Did you happen to notice all those overheads falling down? Or refractory around pipes falling apart and falling down? How about all that black mold which was everywhere. Do you know what that was? And when you inhale the spores which are airborne all the time, but especially when you and your fellow trespassers walked over the stuff and disturbed it and they germinate in your lungs and later your blood , they secrete a deadly neurotoxin which cause irreversable neurological damage.

Well congratulations I am glad you got your mediocre photos. But in the process you effed it up for everyone else to follow and exposed yourself to some very dangerous chemicals and biological agents. I hope was worth it. Stupid is as stupid does and you certainly did it.

First off, may I see the previous posters work, so I am aware of what non-mediocre photos look like. Obviously, because you made the statement that you are a photographer, you are a credible source. Secondly, did you know that warships and submarines were made with galvanized steel? And are you aware of a little known substance called zinc? Zinc protects steel from rust and weakened structural integrity. And mold spores?

Mold is in the air you breathe!! While certain molds are toxigenic, meaning they can produce toxins specifically mycotoxins , the molds themselves are not toxic, or poisonous. Hazards presented by molds that may produce mycotoxins should be considered the same as other common molds which can grow in your house. There is always a little mold everywhere — in the air and on many surfaces. There are very few reports that toxigenic molds found inside homes can cause unique or rare health conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss.

These case reports are rare, and a causal link between the presence of the toxigenic mold and these conditions has not been proven. That being said I am sure these gentlemen ran into rust and mold, but come on Chicken Little!! The sky is not falling and we are not interested in your hypochondriac worrying Debbie Downer!!

I spent 10 years on Aircraft carriers as a Naval Aviator. And mild steel is used throughout the ship. The few things made of stainless were usually railings. Brass was also used for a few fittings.

The sound of pneumatic needle drills chipping paint is a constant, and very annoying, sound on any Navy ship. And I am also degreed microbiologist and I can tell you unequivocally that the toxins or as you pointed out, mycotoxins secreted by S. The neurotoxins produce by chartarum are some of the most potent on the planet.

And people in wet climes are at significantly higher risk. And he no doubt inhaled asbestos fibers, since asbestos was also used aboard Navy ships. From the conditions of a lot of the spaces in his photos, I would say the asbestos exposure risk was pretty substantial.

Then as a Doctor, I am sure that you are aware of the dangers of bird droppings, wich are abundant on old ships like this, and the threat from breathing in asbestos is a very real threat. Yes it is unfortunate that it made it harder for others to get access but they did it, now the time has passed and has already been done.

Complaining and claiming they are committing felonies is not going to change what they already did. Breaking and entering on civilian and or government property is the same class 3 civil mis. Would anyone really curse, and bash someone who goes camping and has a campfire?

There is always danger and risks in living life if you hide then nothing is ever found. I leave you with this to ponder in your heads, If our founding fathers and every other person in this country stayed away from danger and unlivable conditions to fight for a new country and freedom from the British would we be a free nation to explore and speak as we wish?

Would America still stand or would it be another British Colony? George Washington took great risks, and put his men in very dangerous and unhealthy situations.

Risks and danger are always there its up to that person wether or not the rish is worth the reward. To this man the risk were worth the reward. Risk is always part of life and part of any great endeavor. I doubt that even they would feel comfortable equating their hacking to the founding of a country, that by the way has the wisdom to let things like this go.

Had you done this in just about ANY other country you would now be dead. This is akin to spying, and in some Countries the officer coming to pick you up would be authorized to use deadly force.

But back to risk. There is risk taken that is known and considered brave, then there is risk taken because those taking it were stupid and had no clue. I would put this into the no clue box. But that said. I know lots of folks who used to hack buildings when I was younger so this is the ultimate hack.

In the worst of cases, it is a petty misdemeanor. Title 18 section If everyone was like you life would really suck. Because we are sad sad internet people with little lives, and it makes us upset when we see what others are doing in the world around us, while were rotting away in front of our computer screens. Selfish jerk! Then they sue or blame others for not protecting them in the first place…grow up, you hypocritical dweeb!

I agree as well. And the most infuriating thing about all of this was the smug, superior attitudes that were obvious in the tone of the narrative. The Congress during the last decade was largely liberal, Democrat controlled.

Think about that before your next political rant. And the comment he made was a fact, not some Bush-bashing rant. No matter what catastrophic, deadly, accident happened to them while they were criminally trespassing, they would have blamed it on George W. And all the Terrorist-Lovers and Apologists would have agreed with posts filled with obscenities, of course. Great job on the photos. Wish I could get the chance to go back aboard my ship. Kind of dangerous what you guys did though.

Great photos and great job photographing these old warships. I have had the chance to explore dilapidated old structures and even a few ships, but the problem is unlike you I only had an hour or two to get what shots I could, vs you having hours to plan and pick your shots. I can only imagine you took hundreds if not thousands more images than the cream of the crop you posted.

Is there any chance I could get the opportunity to see more of them, especially of the equipment and spaces still onboard? Thanks for the huge effort you put into documenting the ships. Is it possible for a private citizen to buy one of these ships destined for the scrapyard? Seems like it could be cool to have. Yes, and people do. You set up a museum nonprofit, and do exactly what private boat owners do: take on way too much ship.

This becomes a slow sad tale of the smart volunteers leaving, maintenance overwhelming you, dockmasters evicting you, ending in a sad day in court.

OR… start by buying suitable land for an improvised drydock. Move the boat there and get it out of the water. Do that, you win. Great photos but do you realize that as much fun as you were having you were breaking the law. There is a reason they have guards there…. Reminds me of when my buddy and I busted into queensteamboat in Nola. Made for a good time. He got word about the heist from some squatters but when we got on board most all the quickgrabs were already taken.

It seems like one could argue the point of environmental value versus historic degredation… Just a thought. Fail Troll, you made it too obvious. Nice try though. It appeals to me as I love military equipment a wasted youth building model tanks etc , love industrial decay and post apocalyptic landscapes, and love photography.

Give me a call on your next adventure please. Oh and Obama should do something about this. Maybe if you call him at 3am he will answer his phone. Perhaps, though, you were not referring to her sister ships in her class, but the others in the reserve fleet.

Scott and crew… Awesome photography!! I absolutely love it! There is nothing mediocre about it. Thank you for taking the risk to capture and preserve the history and memory of these vessels in a way that I doubt anyone ever has. I envy your and your friends and wish that I had a guts to go out and capture the photos you have. Excellent work and never let the stogy nay-sayers Lynda and Scott discourage you from preserving history.

You guys are truly gifted. Or were you stonewalled and left that part out of the narrative? Having said that, I much prefer photographing with permission because I can fully concentrate on my art without being limited in my use of artificial lighting and without constantly looking over my shoulder. Way to go, job well done! Do you realize that you illegally trespassed on US Government property?

Why didnt you just ask like every other museum or group that has to? Now museums and other historic entities are being restricted from entry to obtain historic materials for their exhibits.

I hope you are all prosecuted to the highest extent of the law! Who is to say you were not stealing property as well! That code has existed for a long time among those who did it before it was called UrbEx. What the hippy said about President Bush was correct in regards to the ships and the lawsuits. In defense of President Bush he did not place those ships there in mothballs, he was not responsible for the decades of pollution they may have caused.

President bush and his administration had to ensure that the removal process would meet all current federal and state laws and regulations before moving forward on the disposal of those ships. As one of the photographers who put this adventure together with Scott and Jon, I want to say thanks for the praise about the photography. Some comments about safety, planning, permission etc: Permission. We are just citizens.

Why does anyone think that MARAD or the federal government would allow us access, as individuals, to take photos at night, roam about the ships and experience them on our own time?

This has never been my experience when dealing with government agencies or large institutions. Safety and planning. If anybody thinks that we did not consider the risks and dangers associated with this kind of adventure, and plan accordingly, then they are very wrong.

We are not novices or drunken frat boys out for some late night hijinks. There were many long discussions about oxygen deprived spaces such as anchor chain lockers and ballast tanks, there were contingency plans made for injuries, we carried a medical kit, we wore PFDs, and took many other precautions. I am an experienced seaman. I have extensively sailed boats, been to sea for months on large ships, made ocean passages in small sailboats, been a student at a Maritime Academy, been trained in confined spaces, industrial safety and operate in confined spaces with hazardous materials on the job, I regularly deal with asbestos and lead paint on the job, I am trained in marine survival and have been swimming in rough northern CA ocean waters for 20 years etc, etc, and the list goes on.

Work crews walk around them every single day! Why is our trip there any different? Although the whole idea might be new concept to many of you just learning about our adventures, as the article says, we talked about and planned this for years. I assure you that any concern that anybody might come up with, was previously discussed and addressed by us. Cheers, -Stephen. I agree wholeheartedly. You win that point. Well instead of sticking up for that value, you now run for cover behind smarmy self-justifications.

Make up a name, done. No Form required. A photography group, good enough reason to ASK for access to anything. You guys are good at that thing. So back to: your excuses are bull, so stop embarrassing yourselves and be honest. And your California apology? Just makes things worse. Could you be more smarmy and disingenuous? Neither defiant anti-authority types, nor decent want to put things right types.

You steal peace of mind. I know it was already inadequate. But you expose it, and THAT brings thieves. But consider it 4 ways. Anything stolen? I escorted him around the property. Smart guy. Should we call the cops? Why bother. See how each case has different effects? You are just making yourselves out to look like a bunch of rude people who have nothing better to do than ridicule others over the internet. It seems these guys were prepared and were ready to face what they set out to do. That being said, wonderful pictures and this seemed like a truly memorable experience.

I am an amateur photographer myself, but I do understand the art and that feeling you get when you really capture something amazing. These images are just that, and there is nothing more enjoyable than doing what makes you happy within reason, of course. Great pictures and keep up the great work. Finally a civil post! I came across this article tonight through Yahoo or something, and posted an admiring, even treacly reply. I decided to start from the top, and your post is the last one before where I had left off.

Ironic that the last post I would read would be the most civil. I just got back from China, a pretty optimistic and non-paranoid place, which has its own downsides of course, like we do, but from all these posts it seems America has gotten pretty dour and cruel.

A lot of these posts seem psychotically vindictive! Yet these photographers seem eloquent, believable, and passionate in their undertaking. At one point, the thought occurred to me that this series of tirades was actually being orchestrated by some group or agency trying to make a political or just mainstream-news fiasco out of it. Even if they made a mistake, big deal. Was it a really big mistake? Like murder or treason or bombing women and children? They took photos of scraps of steel that need to be recycled.

People may have died at one point near where they were. Big deal. Welcome to Earth. Parts of China…you can just sense where conflict occurred and has not been forgotten. Probably like parts of the American South. Get on with it. They probably would be behind bars if this was China, and this blog blocked. And the whole railing-against-the-environmentalist thing. I came to the conclusion that this is the result of the corporate elite and lobbyists and a reactionary sector of the intelligence community, brainwashing people to fear environmental legislation and funding religious fundamentalism.

Its business as usual. Wake up people. Global, egalitarian environmental ethics is not some imaginary apocalyptic commie plan, its a moral necessity and unavoidable. Commies and capitalists both committed their fair shares of horrors, including on the environment. Save that for people like Bush and all the other psycopathic politicians who run war like a business. Heck, I think Obama behaves like a white supremacist and thinks Jesus is just a political tool, but I digress.

Um, the author clearly states that they used a pump to keep the raft inflated whilst traversing from the ships back to shore. Obviously not the ideal solution, but it worked well enough to keep the raft afloat long enough to reach safety.

Nice pictures, but did you do any research at all when you did the write up for this page?? Jeez are you kidding me! Iowa BB Always under the cover of darkness, they crept around the historic ship taking pictures. The same ship that transported President Franklin D.

There are thousands of former crewmembers waiting, aching, to be able to board her once again — legally. The Navy Department is expected to decide by July 31, which group she will be awarded to, to become a floating museum and educational center, and more.

I imagine they went wherever they wished once inside the U. On April 19, , 47 sailors lost their lives in a gun turret explosion aboard this historic ship… to think of the interlopers accessing that hallowed ground is very disturbing. Like a thief. You make blanket assumptions about where we went on the Iowa. Nothing you say is true or credible. We never went near turret 2 and had the utmost respect for the crewmen who died there.

We never even went inside of the Iowa. Look up the those two words in the dictionary. Rules, by nature, limit freedom. To each their own. Right Jon, we dont believe in trespassing or being told where to be or what to do. We should all break into your house or photo studio and spend as much time as we like. Maybe take a nap on your couch. Ignorant statements about being let into the fleet. MARAD has let ship groups photo their ships, local shelters remove mattresses, etc for the poor, Vietnam veteran groups remove historic items, and so on.