Museum ship

Most are broken up and sold for scrap, while a relative handful are sunk as naval target practice, scuttled to create artificial reefs, and so on.

When the USN turns over one of their ships to a museum, a contract must be signed, stating that the Navy bears no responsibility for the costs of restoration, preservation and maintenance.

[3] The restoration and maintenance of museum ships presents problems for historians who are asked for advice, and the results periodically generate some controversy[citation needed].

[4] Numerous scientific papers have been written on ship restoration and maintenance, and international conferences are held discussing the latest developments.

The interior features restored but inactivated equipment, enhanced with mementos including old photographs, explanatory displays, pages from the ship's logs, menus, and the like.

The World War II submarine USS Pampanito, berthed at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, had the active service callsign NJVT and is now on the air as NJ6VT.

In the United States, this includes USS Constitution's annual "turnaround", when the old ship is towed out into the harbor and brought back in facing the other way, so as to weather evenly.

The Russian Aurora , one of the few protected cruisers to be preserved, is one of the world's most visited vessels
Former crew members of USS Missouri pose for photos after the Anniversary of the End of World War II ceremony in 2003.
The 17th-century warship Vasa on display in the Vasa Museum