Ulysses31
I'm too lazy to set a usertitle.
Let's hope active ships have better security, cool idea though :hatsoff:
The ghost ships of Mothball Fleet: Incredible pictures of abandoned Navy war ships taken by crew of illegal squatters
They are the Navy ships that heroically fought in World War Two, now slowly rotting in a San Francisco bay.
And as they are being towed, one by one, for scrapping, in just a few years they will all be gone.
A group of illegal squatters gained unprecedented access to the vessels by rowing at night for two years past security and climbing onto the ships, sleeping secretly on board for days at a time.
And as these stunning images show, their efforts were certainly worth it.
Decaying: One of the ships, which served the U.S. in four wars - World War Two, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Desert Storm
Mould: Many of the rooms inside the ships, which were once glorious but have been left to rot for years, had sadly decayed and rotted
The ships, which served the U.S. in four wars - World War Two, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Desert Storm - are now stationed in Suisun Bay, 30 miles north east of San Francisco.
The mothballed ships, which once numbered close to 400, have been out of action for a decade. 15 of the ships have already been scrapped and the whole fleet is expected to have disappeared by 2017.
The squatting photographers, led by Scott Haefner, gained access to the ships over a two year period.
They took months to prepare their voyages - analysing tidal patterns and security rotas - but despite many close calls managed to spend many days at a time on board.
'As news began to mount that the ships would finally be towed out for scrapping, we knew we had to act fast if we wanted to explore and document them,' Haefner said.
Crumbling: Another of the abandoned rooms suffering from neglect
The power that once was: Guns on the deck of the USS Iowa
Going: The fleet is set to have been completely scrapped by 2017
'We had fantasised for years about getting aboard and had to overcome numerous obstacles just to get to the ships. To get across the channel, we acquired a small, inflatable raft that was just big enough for the three of us and our gear, along with a small motor powered by a car battery.'
The raft often had holes in and on one occasion they frantically had to keep pumping up the boat while still on water.
'On subsequent trips, we spent the entire weekend aboard the ships, each time on a different row. Because they are tethered closely together in rows, we had many ships to explore—enough to keep us occupied for a week or more if the excursions were not so draining and we did not have jobs pulling us back,' Haefner said.
Spectacular: All the engineering work will be gone in a few years
Night: The crew slept aboard for days after sneaking on to the ships
Fused: Wiring on the ships is completely worn after a decade of inactivity
Insight: The images show nautical equipment which will have been used by troops in battles across more than half of the last century
Squatters: The snappers would search out cleaner rooms to sleep in
'One of the first orders of business each trip was finding a place to sleep. The ships are often stinky from mould, mildew and decay, so a room with windows that opened was preferable.
'We typically slept in the captain’s room where we found comfy couches, convertible beds, lots of space, and plenty of light during the daytime.
'We slept during the day after shooting and exploring all night. Around noon, we would wake up and eat and explore the bowels of the ships.
'We had to be careful moving around on the decks during the day, but because the ships are so tall, it was still fairly low-key—at least during our initial trips.
'On later trips, we ran into crews working on the ships, even on weekends, due to increased clean up efforts. Luckily we always saw or heard them before they saw us!'
Access: They spent two years on the project and planned it for months
Sunset: The ships are now deserted after decades spent fighting wars
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ken-crew-illegal-squatters.html#ixzz1OnEqQhNb
