What was the reserve fleet?

The reserve fleet, sometimes called the “mothball fleet”, was a number of boats that we kept on hand in case of new hostilities. The boats were unloaded, covered in protective coatings and then sealed up as much as practical. The idea was that it would be cheaper and faster to reactivate these boats and upgrade them to current standards than it would be to build new ones. Reserve fleets are currently being dismantled and the ships sold for scrap.