Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet

The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF) is an anchorage of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) located in Suisun Bay, a tidal estuary northeast of San Francisco Bay. Of the original eight fleet sites, it is one of three that is still in operation and the only site serving the U.S. west coast.

The U.S. Maritime Commission (MARAD’s predecessor) established an anchorage at Suisun Bay in 1946; the site had previously been a public anchorage used by the U.S. Navy after World War II.When it opened, SBRF hosted 125 ships; by 1952 that number had increased to 340. The fleet is much smaller now, but still hosts the largest number of vessels of the three anchorages that comprise the NDRF.

In addition to the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), the NDRF consists of a variety of obsolete commercial vessels awaiting disposal. The NDRF also hosts many decommissioned U.S. Navy auxiliary vessels. These vessels arrive at the fleet at the end of their military usefulness, and are typically transferred by the U.S. Navy to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for disposal.

SBRF currently hosts non-retention, retention, and reimbursable custody vessels. Non-retention vessels are those that the MARAD has deemed to no longer be militarily useful. Retention vessels are maintained for logistics support, training use, or long term activation. Reimbursable custody vessels are non-NDRF government vessels (such as those owned by the U.S. Amy, Navy, Coast Guard, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) that are stored at each fleet site in exchange for a maintenance fee.