James River, Reserve Fleet

The James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) is located on the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia at (37°07′13″N 76°38′47″W / 37.120393°N 76.646469°W / 37.120393; -76.646469) near Fort Eustis. James River Reserve Fleet, a "ghost fleet", is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The Reserve Fleet ships in storage, called "mothballed", that can be ready for use if needed. Many are awaiting scrapping due to the age or condition of the ship. Some ships are used for target practice or as artificial reefs. A few ships became museum ships and other sold to private companies. Ships can be readied for use in 20 to 120 days during national emergencies or natural disaster. ^[1][2][3] The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) provides oversight of the James River Reserve Fleet. For the United States Navy ships the United States Navy reserve fleets stored these ships and submarines.^[4]

The James River Reserve Fleet is the oldest National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) opened in 1919. At the start of World War II all 300 ships in the fleet were put into service. The current Reserve Fleet was opened in 1946 to store and maintains the many surplus ships after World War II. Some ships there were reactivated for Korean War, Vietnam War and 600-ship Navy program. In the 1950s the fleet had over 800 ships, with all fleets having over 2,000 ships stored. Many of the ships were World War II Liberty ships and Victory ships. ^[5][6] The other large Reserve Fleets in the 1950s are the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet inland from San Francisco Bay and the Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Texas. As of December 2022^[update], nine ships remain in the fleet.^[7]