The United States government’s three reserve ship sites can be seen via satellite photos taken by Google Maps.
The National Defense Reserve Fleet is a group of ships that are used for “national defence and national emergency” crises.
The 'Boneyard': £22bn 'military aircraft cemetery' on Google Maps.
More than 170 vessels, managed by the Department of Transportations Maritime Administration, are located at James River, Virginia, Beaumont, Texas and Suisun Bay, California. It is another example of how the US government’s disposal of military machinery.
On Monday, a spectacular series of new high-resolution Google Earth satellite images were released of the world’s most expensive military cemetery, a £22.6 billion centre dubbed “The Boneyard”.
The 2,600 acre facility, officially known Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, is home to thousands of outdated aeroplanes and helicopters mothballed by the United States Air Force and other allied forces.
Established under Section 11 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946, NDRF vessels have supported emergency shipping requirements in seven wars and crises, according to is official website.
They were used by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina.
Officials say that of the 93 non-retention vessels in the fleet, 70 are in the disposal process, or are ready for disposal while a further 23 are being prepared for disposal.
Last month the US government announced that a cleanup operation of Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet had been expanded.
A MARAD spokesman said that when a ship becomes obsolete, the department arranged for their disposal in an “environmentally sensitive manner”.
“When a ship is recycled, the recycler often salvages and sells metal and other materials, and disposes of other materials in accordance with state and federal law," he added.
By Telegraph.co.uk
