A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S. naval usage is "ghost fleet". In earlier times, and especially in British usage, these ships were said to be laid up in ordinary.
Read more about Reserve Fleet: Overview, Principal Reserve Fleets, Alternatives, Environmental Concerns
Famous quotes containing the words reserve and/or fleet:
“I do not know what right I have to so much happiness, but rather hold it in reserve till the time of my desert.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“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)