– Daily Mail – These rusting ‘ghost’ ships are the last remnants of what was once the United States’ National Defense Reserve Fleet, set to protect and serve in the hour of need. The NDRF was set up in the wake of the Second World War, and at its peak in the 1950s, the fleet consisted of nearly 2,280 ships moored across the United States. But as the need for the fleet has diminished, so has the number of vessels, and today, just over 120 ships remain, posing a risk to the environment in the bays where they are moored.