New York's Lost Hudson River Ghost Fleet

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Chapters:
00:00 - Why the Hudson River has military significance
02:29 - How New York ended up with the Hudson Ghost Fleet
04:22 - Why maintenance of a Ghost fleet is so expensive
05:10 - The Alcoa Cruiser
07:14 - Reactivation ships for the Korean / Vietnam war
08:23 - Why a 77-year-old grandmother sued the US Military
09:40 - Why Mothball Fleet ships are maintained
10:33 - Liquidation of the Hudson Ghost Fleet
11:34 - The Story of SS Exochorda
13:32 - What’s Left of the Hudson River Ghost Fleet
17:02 - Why the Hudson River Mothball Fleet needed to be scrapped

IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

» CONTACT

» DISCLAIMER

» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Brent Sapp,
Editor - Karolina Szwata,
Host - Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design: Dave Daddario

» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[ITSHISTORY]

Thank you World of Warships for sponsoring this video.
During registration use the promo code WARSHIPS to receive a huge starter pack including a bunch of Doubloons, Credits, Premium Account time, and a FREE ship after you complete 15 battles!
The promo code is only for new players who register for the first time on the Wargaming portal.

[ThomasButler-spro]

I'm an old guy now, 82. However, during the early 1960's I frequently traveled on the New York Central Railroad frof NYC to Rochester where I went to college. The Mothball Fleet in the Hudson River was truly a sight to see from the train....a massive flotilla of large gray ships rafted together.

[robertmelchionda]

I was a young boy and traveled up the Hudson River as part of a cub scout trip. I will never forget that vision of the fleet on the Hudson River. It will be forever etched in my mind. It was just an awesome sight to behold.

[AlanZipkin]

I remember my father taking our family on Sunday afternoon drives in the early 60's to drive past the Liberty ships arranged along the river. Somewhere in the flotilla of ships was the one he served on during WWII. As a young boy, I was fascinated by just how many there were and the stories he told of the places he had been during the war. It's been 60 years since I've given any thought to those Sunday trips and this video brought it all back. Thanks for making this video.

[tommy]

I grew up in Ossining, NY maybe 7 miles south of the Ghost Fleet in the 60's. As a kid in a car driving along Route 9A past all the ships was an awesome thing. They were mostly grey, chained together and BIG. I envisioned them on the seas in my young mind. I would wonder if I could sneak out and swim to them to climb aboard and explore them. Love ALL of your videos. Thanks.

[moosecat]

I'm a dried up Merchant Marine; I was going for my Third Mate's license 30 years ago.
There are several Liberty and Victory ships that are still around today; the John Brown and Jeremiah O'Brien probably deserve their videos, too.
Even by 1970s standards, the ships were obsolete due to their speed (or lack thereof), the labor-intensive steam plants (most modern ships are powered by diesel engines), and that they were breakbulk ships in an increasingly containerized world.
The woes of the US Merchant Marine is nothing new, as evidence by the Jones Act that was passed about the same time Babe Ruth first donned a Yankees uniform. (1920, to be precise.)

[thomascourtien]

Great memories seeing these ships from the deck of the Hudson River Dayliner on the way to Bear Mountain every summer.

Also, my dad (a merchant marine engineering officer) worked for the Federal Government Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. One of his responsibilities was to assure the ships in this fleet were being properly maintained.

[barryberman]

In the summer of 1965, I went down the Hudson River with my aunt, uncle and 2 cousins on their boat. I still have vivid memories of the “mothball fleet”, West Point, Sing Sing Prison and New York Harbor. To this day, I still remind my cousin of her hanging over the side of the boat when we hit the ocean.

[seanflahockey]

I grew up in Hyde Park, NY and would always drive on Rt 9W to Haverstraw to see my grandparents as my parents grew up there. We would pass these ships all the time in the 70’s. I remember asking my dad what all these ships were for and he would tell me why they were there. It was a sight.

[michaelsullo]

It was a awesome site seeing these ships from a Hudson River Dayliner as a young boy. My father always wondered if one of these ships took him to Europe in WWII.

[fredvanduyne]

My dad served in WW-2 as a member of Torpedo Squadron 10 assigned to CV-6 USS ENTERPRISE. We lived in New Jersey and we often went to visit family members who lived along the Hudson just west side of Hyde Park. He was always so excited about visiting the ghost fleet but also sad at the same time because his ship, the most famous ship of the war was not there and had been scrapped. I’m thinking that it was around 1967 the last time he got to see them.

[eriklivessey]

Their was 5 ship's in this area up until 2004. As a kid going up and down the river on my grandfather's boat

[arnoldpainal]

I saw that fleet from Route 9W every time my parents drove upstate for the day or a vacation before the Thruway was opened.

[ALIFFIFUNERALHOME]

I remember seeing the moth ball fleet as a child in the Hudson, it was impressive to see

[kurtwoehrman]

Grew up on the Hudson in the 60-70s. Remember seeing but you've explained why. Thank you 😊

[armchair]

There were always things to see from the train to NYC from Poughkeepsie. The mothball fleet, Armory Island, and my favorite was was going right through Sing-Sing and being glad I wasn't there.

[RaymondCalloway]

I firmly recall seeing the Liberty Ships on the Hudson during school or family trips upstate during the 1960s and early 70s. I always found the sights of these ship fascinating but I would forget about them as I grew older. Decades later in 2012 during a ride north on Amtrak and the train reached the cove where the ships once were, I was saddened to see they were no longer berthed there. I did not know their outcome until just now seeing this video. Thank you!

[davidschroeder]

As a kid in the 50's I well remember these ships as our dad would drive our family from our home in New Jersey north on 9W to Bear Mountain state park. Years later in the 60's I would pedal my bike along the same route to Bear Mountain state park, buy a candy bar and head back home.

[lindajohnjosie]

Thank you so much for posting this video. My mom and dad moved my brother and me from Brooklyn to Fort Montgomery in 1957 when I was just 5 years old. The job he took was to work on these very ships both in maintaining them, or in some cases removing items for salvage. He worked there for years. One of my memories was my dad taking us to the entrance road in the spring to gather some flowers from the lilac trees that grew there. Your video gives me a lot more info than what I ever knew. All my dad ever called them was the "mothball fleet".

[jimdooner]

Remember the ghost ship fleet very well going upstate to visit relatives and my dad would call them the mothball fleet and say that possibly one of them was the ship that brought him back home from ww2 and probably brought him to Korea when he was called back to service. My dad was a proud veteran who served in ww2 and Korea. Miss him