up next on a second look, the moth ball fleet at sasun bay. how it got there and what's being done to preserve it. it's all straight ahead tonight on a second look. hello everyone i'm frank somerville. if you've ever driven north over the benecia bridge and looked to the right you've no

doubt seen it. it's a collection of military and merchant ships. more commonly it's known as the moth ball fleet or the ghost fleet. back in 1990 there was a sizable collection of fleets there established under a 1946 law the ships were collected so the government could essentially call them up in the event of an emergency: but by 2010 the fleet size had shrunk considerably as the army started to recycle the rusting ships. >> reporter: here they are, lined up in eerie precision. are they ships at rest or shipped moored on a watery graveyard. the government calls them a

vital reserve fleet. people call it a rust bucket. fleet not worth keeping. most will be eventually scrapped. these old ships many of these over 40 years old could be called upon to reup and serve again. in the meantime they are maintained by the u.s. maritime administration at the cost of approximately 14 $14,000 a year per ship. but seaworthy or not, some of these ships are floating relics of history. pitted with rust, these are victory ships the product of an industrial miracle that was born out of the ugly necessity created by world war ii. when the japanese attacked pearl harbor, the united states was not prepared to supply and transport it forces in a global

war. there simply weren't enough ships. in 1941 and early 42, shipyards were built all across the country especially here in the san francisco bay area. thousands of people laboring millions of the dollars in massive facilities began building ships. the type that lies in anchor at sasun bay today. also sliding down were tankers. they were being built at an astonishing pace. as it hits the water a crane is already laying the first section of keel. they built them fast but they were built to last as well. many served in world war ii and vietnam with korea in between. into many cases without standing valor. to site one case, the ss meredith was involved in evacuating civilians in

december of 1850 from the korean port. under heavy fire and in grave danger, the meredith eventually evacuated men, women and children. that was then, this is now. today the u.s.s. meredith is one of the sasun survivors and is unlikely the maritime meredith may still be outfitted for service. >> the meredith was used as a cargo ship, she's laying here in the sasun bay resort fleet waiting to serve again. >> when you climb aboard one of them the fact that they are commercially obsolete is obvious. we're told by the people who maintain them not to be fooled.

>> rust is a superficial condition on steel. you will see although we have some superficial rust the steel is in good condition. the structural bolt connections. all that goes into whether it's a seaworthy ship or not are intact on these ships. >> reporter: when you go below it is remarkable how well preserved the ships are. there are even charts and logs still on board. things are still intact because a dehumidifier was used. below you get a feeling for how cramped and hot these ships were when they were in service. imagine if you will a world war ii vintage carrier with a full

complement 2,000 person screw. >> we were incredibly crowded and it was a very depressing thought knowing you were going to get on that ship. as glad as people were to get into the army to head to korea, it was sad to have to get on that ship. >> reporter: the maritime administration has a five month times to get a ship back into service. but can repairs realistically be done? there were four shipbuilders in the bay area at one time, today there is none. >> we're continuingly doing that now. this vessel here is one of the ready reserve ships. and one in the dry dock is a

ready reserve vessel who we're doing some retrofit now and they're in a five day status, they could be activated in five days. we have the skill here. >> reporter: these ship k-s be made seaworthy -- these ships can be made seaworthy. one congressman called it a rusty tub program. so how will this impasse be resolved? it probably won't be. you probably saw these ships 20 years ago, you certainly can see them today. and you will probably see the neat rows of ships another 20 years from now. i'm george watson and that is segment two for tonight. still to come on a second look, was george correct when he said the ship fleet would likely not change for 20 years. but first the u.s.s. iowa and where it's headed now.

tonight we're taking a look at the moth ball ships. today the iowa was scheduled to leave richmond where it's been for two months undergoing clean up and repairs. it'll now be sent to los angeles where it will become a floating museum. the amy moved the iowa and rob roth was there. >> reporter: this morning an old warrior passed through the cardenas straight after 58 years this was the last mile for the u.s.s. battleship iowa. it fought in world war ii and in korea but the navy has placed the iowa more than eight football fields long on reserve status in the bay area. people crowded along the shorelines and piers along martinez. among the faces in the crowd were some of the sailors who

once calledded the iowa home. >> my office was right there at the end of that. >> reporter: and those who hasn't seen it in more than half a century until today. >> after having not seen her for so many years, it was like looking at her like i saw her yesterday. >> reporter: howell mannis was among the crew that transported roosevelt to afghanistan for important meetings. >> rying to get me out of the area and the president told him to leave the young man alone. >> another sailor recalled if iowa's pipes bursting as the ship was firing it's weapons during the korean war. >> all of a sudden water come in there.

and nobody said a word. not one word. and we just took our shirts off. we were all 18, 19-year-old kids. >> reporter: the iowa once fired 2,000-pound shells that's like shooting off a soaks -- volkswagen. >> you hear these war stories and you would love it for it to be huge. >> reporter: the navy says if necessary it can get the iowa up, running and ready for service in just 30 days but most likely it'll sit here in silence for at least the next three years. after that some bay area naval buffs are hoping the iowa can

become a floating museum so it will never be forgotten. >> reporter: last month on the 23rd anniversary of the explosion. some of the survivorred returns to the iowa as it was tied up in richard -- richmond to remember the fallen crew men and to take part of the celebration. >> emg3, robert wallace bachern. >> reporter: one by one -- >> seaman bryan robert joans. >> reporter: the names of those killed were read aloud like poetry. as those gathered looked back on the disaster and renewed their vows. >> we said our vows that day,

and now we're going to say them again. so right after the ceremony i'm going to get back into my cover ups and get back to work. because that's what they would want and that's what i want. >> i was right next to the turip when it exploded. it was black, smoldering still and there were bodies laying around. we put the fire out. >> my job was to report the casualties as they came out to the bridge to the captain. unfortunately as we all know no one made it out. >> reporter: david canfield too has vivid memoriesover that day. >> we heard the explosion then all hell broke lose. >> reporter: president reagan also recalled the tragedy. >> we lost a lot of lives. >> reporter: today was the

first day many of the veterans and victim's family sit back on board the world war ii ship. and the reunion was emotional. >> it's precious, none of us went alone. the plan for cleaning up the moth in sasun bay. but first, the recovery of a soviet submarine. i hate getting less. but i love getting more.

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embassy suites. get more. on a second look tonight we're looking back at the moth fleet at sasun bay.

the year that director jordan told us about its history. >> reporter: the glomare explorer was the stuff of which spy novels were made. once upon a time the world was told that the ship belonged to howard hughes. the excentric owner of the moose goose would be used to recover sodium out of the sea. but the secret was blown. there was word that the entire submarine was pulledded inside a moon well. it remains unclear how much of the submarine was brought on board the glow mar. the remains of six soviet sailors were recovered from the

compartment from the glow mar. the men were given a burial at sea dually recorded. >> the goalmar has always resembled a rig at sea and now it will become one. a new one costs $250 million. retrofitting this one will cost 100 million less. metal will be stripped, but some shroud of secrecy remains. >> we're not allowed to discuss its previous history. our contract with the government is such that we can't discuss its past history. >> reporter: a floating legend from an era gone by. >> in 2010, federal officials announced that they were cleaning up the moth ball fleet and planned to clear out all of the ships in seven years. ktvu's jim vargas brought us this report on the day of that

announcement. the ship's holes have released metal, lead, and caviant into the water. today's announcement that all ships will be cleaned and those about to be sent elsewhere for dismantling will be cleaned and dried ends 26 years of doing nothing to solve the problem. >> this is a long look forward to an event in the protection of our bay of the fisheries of our general environment. >> reporter: one ship was towed to san francisco dry dock today in preparation for dismantling in texas. it was the first ship from the fleet to be released. today's deal formalizes what washington started last fall. according to a report by the

maritime association, it will be scrapped. >> we really need to recognize the obama administration and the maritime administration for showing it can be done. >> reporter: if the price of scrap metal goes up and if dismantling in the area is possible, it will save more. the remarkable shipbuilding industry that sprang up virtually overnight and the role the bay area played in bringing that about.

we've been taking a second look at the moth fleet at sasun bay. the effort to turn out ships in a remarkable short amount of

time. one of the ships they did that was in marin county. george watson first brought us this story back in 2000. >> reporter: on december 7, 1941 the japanese attacked pearl harbor and in every conceivable sense they had awakened the sleeping tiger. america was instantly on a war footing. the white hawks steel mills of pennsylvania. the vast oil fields of texas even on the sleepy mud flaps of salsalito, california. the war effort here was born on a mile long stretch of water that would turn into the largest marine time. there are 350,000 separate pieces of steel on the liberty

ship. marin ship built the first one. it took 261 days to build and that was 61 days ahead of schedule and that happened with the ship partially complete. america was literally building more ships than the german government could sink. the war against the germans was won. before the shipyard was even finished. they had contracted to build 41 ships. 2,200 people were working there side by side, designing, molding, cutting steel, welding, fitting and finally launching. the shipyard was the assembly line taken to the level of art form. as each new ship was formed, the heel for another was being layed down before a new one was found slid away. who built these ships. >> for the first time women who were housewives came in and became welders or ship fitters

or carpenters. old men came to work again. young people were brought in to work before they were drafted for the army. >> reporter: young men and women were brought in 50s. >> i asked the shore man, are you shoe you want me to try this. i'm going to be around a group of old-timers here, i don't know if this is going to work. one of the men said, you're young, you move fast, you'll do. >> reporter: it was also a jagernaut for change in the area. the ship business exploded. johnson was 21 years old when she left shreveport louisiana.

>> the few positions they had for black people were full. so i sat on my suitcase 21 days. no bother for me. excited to come to california that i would hear the golden gate bridge was really gold. that tells you how much i knew about life and traveling. i lived with my cousin, she had a one room studio apartment in marin. and about nine of us slept nights and worked days, others worked nights and slept days. it was the arrival of women in the work force. in 1940 there were only 36 women working in american shipyards. three years later, 160,000 women were building ships. but when it came to the workplace, men weren't getting

it. >> on my time card there was a little note. from now on women will not come to the shipyard with sweaters on. because they distract the men's attention. and i don't know how they felt that anybody would distract a man's attention because we had about five layers of clothes on. i don't think there were any marlin monroes. also, they delivered 30 ships in three years. 78 tankers. with the death of adolph hitler in a war bunker, the war was over. workers could pick up their lunchboxes, walk out the door and know they had become part

of history. they were shipbuilders. >> that's it for this week's a second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you again next week.