A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate. All ships in these facilities are inactive, but some are still on the Naval Vessel Register, while others have been stricken from that Register.
The ships that have been stricken from the NVR are disposed of by one of several means, including foreign military sale transfer, ship donation as a museum or memorial, domestic dismantling and recycling, artificial reefing, or use as a target vessel. Others are retention assets for possible future reactivation, which have been laid up for long-term preservation and are maintained with minimal maintenance (humidity control, corrosion control, flood/fire watch) should they need to be recalled to active duty.
There are NISMFs in Philadelphia, PA, Pearl Harbor, HI and Bremerton, WA, operated by the Naval Sea Systems Command's Inactive Ships Management Office (INACTSHIPOFF) in Portsmouth, Virginia.
In addition, parts of Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard are designated for the storage of inactive nuclear powered vessels.
Inactive ship facilities in Suisun Bay, James River and Beaumont, Texas are owned and operated by the Maritime Administration under the Department of Transportation.
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