National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists 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 NDRF 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.

NDRF vessels are at the fleet sites at James River, Virginia – the 'James River Reserve Fleet'; Beaumont, Texas- the 'Beaumont Reserve Fleet'; and Suisun Bay, California; and at designated outported berths. Former anchorage sites included Stony Point, New York; Wilmington, North Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; Astoria, Oregon; and Olympia, Washington.

Through the 2010s, the oldest, most decrepit hulls at Suisun Bay will be stripped of toxic materials, then broken up in Texas, California or Asia. Twenty of the most polluting mothball ships are slated for recycling by 2012, as are 32 more by 2017. Unaffected will be the battleship USS Iowa which has been relocated to the Port of Los Angeles to become a museum ship.

At its peak in 1950, the NDRF had 2,277 ships in lay-up. In 2003, it had 274. In July 2007, it held 230 ships, primarily dry cargo ships with some tankers, military auxiliaries and other types.

Read more about National Defense Reserve Fleet:  History, Operations, Fleet Reduction

Famous quotes containing the words national, defense, reserve and/or fleet:

    The Federated Republic of Europe—the United States of Europe—that is what must be. National autonomy no longer suffices. Economic evolution demands the abolition of national frontiers. If Europe is to remain split into national groups, then Imperialism will recommence its work. Only a Federated Republic of Europe can give peace to the world.
    Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)

    The sick man is taken away by the institution that takes charge not of the individual, but of his illness, an isolated object transformed or eliminated by technicians devoted to the defense of health the way others are attached to the defense of law and order or tidiness.
    Michel de Certeau (1925–1986)

    Common experience is the gold reserve which confers an exchange value on the currency which words are; without this reserve of shared experiences, all our pronouncements are cheques drawn on insufficient funds.
    René Daumal (1908–1944)

    Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
    Which I gaze on so fondly today,
    Were to change by tomorrow, and fleet in my arms,
    Like fairy-gifts fading away.
    Thomas Moore (1779–1852)