The world's most expensive parking lot is in the middle of the ocean

[rkolinski]

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"This amazing picture shows what looks like a large parking lot - until you realise that it is floating in the middle of the ocean.

It is in fact USS Ronald Reagan, a giant nuclear-powered aircraft carrier on its way in to Washington's Naval Base Kitsap earlier this week.

It will stay at the base for the next year, undergoing the routine maintenance which gives it an extraordinary lifespan of half a century.

Nearly 3000 sailors will be making their homes in Bremerton, the ship's new home port - and they are bringing their cars with them, hence the bizarre spectacle on board deck.

While this may not seem to be the best way to transport the sailors' vehicles from the ship's permanent base in San Diego, it is in fact cheaper and more efficient than making the men brave the 1,200-mile drive up the west coast.


When Ronald Reagan made a shorter trip to Washington last month, they pulled off the same trick, as shown in the second picture.

For a carrier used to bearing enormous fighter jets, the weight of a car park does not cause too much trouble.


Most of the sailors will be deployed on maintenance and repair jobs during the $218million renovation process, according to the Kitsap Sun.

The others will undergo training or be seconded to other vessels.

Although the sailors are obliged to base themselves in Kitsap during the repair period, many have not moved their families from sunny San Diego, which is currently around 30 degrees warmer than Bremerton.

USS Ronald Reagan was first launched in 2001, and since then has been involved in a number of key missions, including contributions to the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last year, it was the first U.S. vessel to bring aid to Japan after the earthquake and tsunami which devastated much of the country's coastal region."http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1jcdgBYIL