Ships and boats are ancient inventions whose rise parallels the spirit of human adventure.  From antiquity to modernity great powers have relied on shipping to expand empires, while grand liners transported tourists to far flung places previously only accessible to the imagination.  But the rise of air travel and decline of shipbuilding have left coasts and rivers littered with abandoned ships, boats and shipyards, that may not look pretty but provide a fascinating retrospective subject for photographers and maritime enthusiasts.

While stricken ships and boats are usually salvaged for scrap, and abandoned docks and shipyards eventually repurposed, the process can take years.  Meanwhile, rusting ships and decaying infrastructure litter coastlines and river banks, their mighty hulks a sign of industrialdecline in many countries.