14 DAY TRIAL // More than 70 warships and auxiliary vessels can be found at Suisun Bay, near San Francisco, on the western coast of the United States. They are a part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF), which is currently managed by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), a part of the US Department of Transportation. Recently, environmentalists and water companies have sued authorities, in a bid to have the ships removed from the area, on account of the fact that they severely polluted the waters around.
According to these groups, the fleet anchored at Suisun Bay is currently leaking tons of paint into the nearby waters, a thing that could severely affect the marine wildlife in the area, as well as the water supplies of people in neighboring cities. Most of these ships, known as “mothballs,” are beyond repair, and were left to rust in the shallow estuary, even if federal authorities attempted to have them sunk at one point. A legal conflict with local officials has delayed the measure, and the boats still remain afloat to this day.
Fifty of the ships were supposed to be disposed of by 2006 at the latest, but obviously that didn't happen, so this has the potential of turning into one of those stagnant situations where no one is willing to take any action. Still, following the lawsuits, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has decided to investigate the matter, and conducted a study at the site of the Fleet Reserve, assessing levels of PCBs, toxic metals, as well as other chemicals on the vessels.
Following the investigation, the federal agency concluded that the risk posed by the 70 ships to the environment is minimal, and that the readings recorded around them are within normal limits. These conclusions directly contradict a 2007 US Maritime Administration study, which showed that paint was leaking into the waters in high amounts. Still, NOAA recommended that no significant clean-up action be taken in regards to the NDRF.
The faith of the mothball fleet remains uncertain at this time, as authorities at both the federal and local level seem to have no idea what to do with the vessels, of which most are merchant ships. Their goal was to remain in stand-by, in case a war broke out. It never did, and most of the vessels are rusting, and some have fallen into a deep state of degradation. While documents say that the ships could be ready to sail within 20 to 120 days of receiving an order, that seems very unlikely to happen in real life.