James River - James River Reserve Fleet

James River Reserve Fleet

The James River is the anchorage (37°07′13″N 76°38′47″W / 37.120393°N 76.646469°W / 37.120393; -76.646469) for a large portion of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, called the "James River Fleet" or the "Ghost Fleet," consisting of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.

The fleet is managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD). It is a different entity from the United States Navy reserve fleets, which consist largely of warships.

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