Reserve fleet

HMS Vanguard in about 1947, when it was part of the British Reserve Fleet
Ships of the U.S. Navy's Reserve Fleet in the Reserve Basin at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, 1956

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".

A reserve fleet may be colloquially referred to as a "ghost fleet".[1] In the 21st century, ghost fleet may also refer to an active shadow fleet of aged reserve fleet oil tankers returned to an active service in order to circumvent commodities sanctions.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ "Nuclear 'ghost' to leave James River Reserve Fleet". Daily Press. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  2. ^ "Russia relies on 'shadow fleets' to save oil exports - UK Daily News". 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  3. ^ "Analysis | What We Know About the Shadow Fleet Handling Putin's Oil". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  4. ^ Chambers, Sam (2023-02-23). "Splash investigation pinpoints the true scale of the shadow tanker fleet". Splash247. Retrieved 2023-03-07.