There are various states of readiness for these ships. Some of them are floating wrecks as you say, others are actually sealed and have dehumidifiers running in

There are various states of readiness for these ships. Some of them are floating wrecks as you say, others are actually sealed and have dehumidifiers running inside them to keep rust down etc. Then there is the Ready Reserve fleet which is staffed 24/7 and have a 5-10 day activation window. See NDRF ( bit.ly/108AKrG ) vs RRF ( http://1.usa.gov/107ak6i http://1.usa.gov/107ak6i )