In Suisun Bay, 30 miles northeast of San Francisco, there lies a vast ghostly fleet of almost 100 abandoned Navy and merchant ships. These vessels, known as the Mothball Fleet, served in four US wars and are currently awaiting disposal.
The empty ships served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.
Quiet guns on the deck of the USS Iowa. This is WWII's last lead battleship and will likely become a museum.
Scott Haefner and his team of planned five secret missions in order to photograph the heavily guarded fleet.
The small team slept aboard the ships to photograph the extensive interiors.
Some of the scenes they found were truly eerie. In this image, it looks as if the ship was evacuated mid-meal!
The ships, decaying below the decks, are also decomposing into the sea at great risk to the marine environment.
This ship, The President, was towed to Texas in May 2011.
The fleet once numbered over 400 but in the last decade the count has been around 75 ships.
These vessels were once intended as reserves in the event of an emergency situation although few if any of these ships could still be considered effective warships.
These rusty walls, once astir with wartime activity, must have many stories to tell.
Under the Obama administration, the US Maritime Administration has stepped up efforts to dispose of these ships. By 2017, they will all be removed and scrapped.
Posting Source: http://beta.news.yahoo.com/photos/the-ghost-ships-of-suisun-bay-1307733678-slideshow/#
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