Where does a ship go once it has been decommissioned?

Question

Do they remain on stand by for a certain amount of time or do they get sold for scrap? What is the process?

Do they have "bone yards" like they do for aircraft one retired?

article about soon to be decommissioned ship..

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/07/navy_tarawa_073008/

Answer 1

There are several options. First is try to find a buyer, such as a foreign nation. A lot of ships after being decommissioned are bought and refurbished for other uses. Sometimes, depending on the ships history, are sold or given away as musuem tourist attractions. Case in point are some aircraft carriers such as the one in New York City on the Hudson River.

Others ship can end up in the scrap yard, sold for its metal.

Some will end up as target practice for the military or sunk to create reefs.

Answer 2

scraped and sent to a museum possibly.

and some ships have there guns taken off and make some changes and use it for other purposes in the Navy.

i don't know what those ships are called but if you go to a navy port you'll see the ships with a gold blue stripes, they have no guns but are used for something i don't know.

Hope it helps

Answer 3

Some go to foreign navies... Philippines, Latin America, etc...

Some go to the reserve fleet and are put into long term storage.

Some are sold for scrap.

Some are sunk to make artificial reefs.

Answer 4

Most of them are sold for scrap metal or sunk as artificial reefs. A very few of them are purchased and turned into private yachts.

Answer 5

Well for a ship that has been decommissioned there are several things that can possibly come of it:

1) The ship is sold to another nation to be refurbished and reused in the new nations Navy.

2)  The ship is sold as scrap metal

3) Several ships have been sunk to form artificial reefs for fish and divers.

4) Several have been sold to States or cities to be used as a museum.

5)  Several sit in Suisun Bay (East of San Francisco Bay) as part of the US Navy Mothball Fleet. The most notable ship here is the US Iowa BB-61.

6) Some are used for target practice so that the Navy can test their new weapons and systems.  The air force will participate in these exercises also.

So when a ship is decomminsioned there are several fates it could face.  Some good others, well the fishes and sharks enjoy.

Answer 6

the send them to scrap yards, like they do for cars.

Answer 7

They are used for :

Scrap metals to be refined and reused, the rest is sent to scrap yards, and some ships are sent to be artificial reefs (like coral reefs) (they are sunk).