David -
Yes, they are located pretty high at first glance. But in the photo you posted one can see the black fueling hose that loops along the side of the ship, hanging from strongbacks, hooks or eyes, that attach to the underside of the flight deck. The forwardmost end of this hose (or one of the hoses if there are two) comes up and over the platform just below the objects under discussion here. The two platforms visible aft of that point are, I believe, the platforms from which the RAS is conducted, not on the main deck. I recall reading that somewhere. In the following picture, a framework with three vertical posts (but without any horizontal walkway) is attached to the underside of the flight deck and visible right under where the objects being discussed are mounted in your picture, so handling the objects which I believe to be hose segments would be fairly simple.
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I have gone back over the MD Silver plans and there are several plans that show these platforms, but their function is never named. Each platform has a vertical ladder from it to the main deck attached to the bulkhead from which the platform is cantilevered.
And to be honest, I cannot explain why the object(s) are not black, or why they seem to have stripes every foot or so. Those could be markings, or joints, or separations consistent with floater nets. If they are the latter, why are they only located there? Did the USN have them that early in the war? And why are they not in the traditional mesh baskets? One other explanation is that they are connected together and used as an oil spill containment boom. And located close to the refueling station where the accidental release of oil in-port is most likely. I don't think the USN was all that worried about those issues in those days, but I offer that for grins.