USS Trepang (SSN-674), a Sturgeon-class

Sturgeon class submarine

The Sturgeon class were a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 2004. They were the "work horses" of the submarine attack fleet throughout much of the Cold War...

 attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 to be named for the trepang, Holothuroidea, a marine animal having a long, tough, muscular body, sometimes called a 'sea slug' or a 'sea cucumber', found on coral reef

Coral reef

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...

s.

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build Trepang was awarded to the Electric Boat

Electric boat

While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...

 Division of General Dynamics

General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...

 Corporation in Groton

Groton, Connecticut

Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, on 15 July 1966 and her keel

Keel

In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...

 was laid down there on 28 October 1967. She was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 27 September 1969, sponsored by Mrs. Melvin R. Laird, the wife of United States Secretary of Defense

United States Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...

 Melvin R. Laird

Melvin R. Laird

Melvin Robert Laird is an American politician and writer. Laird was a Republican congressman who also served as Richard Nixon's Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973. Laird urged Nixon to maintain a policy of withdrawing US soldiers from Vietnam...

, and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 14 August 1970 with Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 Dean R. Sackett, Jr., in command.

1970-1971

Following local operations out of her home port

Home port

A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...

, New London

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

, Connecticut, Trepang proceeded to the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 early in 1971. From 22 February to 22 March 1971, she operated beneath the polar ice cap

Polar ice cap

A polar ice cap is a high latitude region of a planet or natural satellite that is covered in ice. There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor any geological requirement for it to be over land; only that it must be a body of...

, conducting extensive tests to provide data for her weapons systems as well as carrying out scientific experiments concerning the movement, composition, and geological

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 history of the ice cap itself.

After returning to New London via Faslane, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Trepang was soon deployed to the warmer climes of the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

, departing from her New London on 22 April 1971 and subsequently making port at Frederiksted on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands

United States Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...

 for weapons systems acceptance and evaluation trials. Back in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 waters for local operations, Trepang again headed south for further tests. In November 1971, she deployed to conduct independent operations in the North Atlantic Ocean.

1972

Following her return to New London on 5 February 1972, Trepang underwent a routine post-deployment standdown and upkeep, as well as attack submarine training and equipment grooming in local operating areas. She conducted a second extended deployment into the North Atlantic from 24 July to 25 September 1972, returning to New London via Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. For the remainder of 1972, she operated off the United States East Coast between New London and Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

1973

An interim four-week drydocking period at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...

 at Kittery

Kittery, Maine

Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, preceded Trepangs 1973 operations before she headed south for weapons tests off the Florida coast. Completing a four-week upkeep period on 22 April 1973, she completed a Nuclear Technical Proficiency Inspection before returning to New London, where she completed an Operational Reactor Safeguard Examination

Operational Reactor Safeguard Examination

An Operational Reactor Safeguard Examination is an examination conducted by senior United States Navy personnel on US Navy Nuclear Powered aircraft carriers and submarines...

 on 4 May 1973.

On 8 June 1973, Trepang departed New London for a six-month deployment with the United States Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

. She participated in several special operations with the Sixth Fleet during the increased tension brought on by the Yom Kippur War

Yom Kippur War

The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...

 in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 in October 1973. She returned to New London at the end of November 1973 for upkeep and the routine post-deployment standdown leave period.

1974

Trepang got underway on 15 February 1974 for a special operation which lasted through 9 April 1974. She then spent three days at Holy Loch

Holy Loch

The Holy Loch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Robertson's Yard at Sandbank, a village on the loch, was a major wooden boat building company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....

, Scotland, before departing for New London. She continued local operations and training off the U.S. East Coast through her change of home port on 1 October 1974, when Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, became her new base. She spent the remainder of 1974 in drydock in annual overhaul

Overhaul

Overhaul may refer to:*Overhaul , a Transformers character*The process of overhauling...

.

1975

While in overhaul, Trepang was assigned to Submarine Squadron 10 during March 1975. She spent April to August 1975 completing the overhaul and carrying out crew training and recertification. Following sea trials in late October 1975, Trepang returned to New London, which once again became her home port, on 7 November for an intensive post-overhaul upkeep alongside submarine tender

Submarine tender

A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...

 .

Departing New London on 1 December 1975, Trepang conducted post-overhaul weapons systems acceptance testing at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station is a former United States military air base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site is run today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport.-History:...

 in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 and five days of acoustic trials off Frederiksted at St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands before departing St. Croix on 17 December 1975 and returning to New London on 22 December.

1976

Trepang spent the early part of 1976 preparing for an extended cruise. She deployed to the Mediterranean Sea from June to November 1976, operating with the Sixth Fleet. She returned to New London upon conclusion of the deployment, and the routine post-deployment standdown lasted into 1977.

1977

In mid-January 1977, Trepang participated in Exercise "CARIBEX 77" in the Caribbean. She devoted the spring of 1977 to individual ship exercises which included a Nuclear Technical Proficiency Inspection, a Mk-48 Torpedo Proficiency Inspection, and an Operational Readiness Inspection, all of which she completed successfully. An extensive refit period, which included drydocking, took place in May and early June 1977. Midshipman orientation cruises followed and, in September, Trepang conducted pre-deployment work-up and certification. She then engaged in a training mission in the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 from mid-October to mid-December 1977 before returning to New London and beginning a routine post-deployment standdown.

1978

After the standdown ended during January 1978, Trepang devoted the remainder of January, February, and March to attack submarine training and participation in the North Atlnatic Treaty Oragnization (NATO) Exercise "Safepass." She spent the summer of 1978 working up for a scheduled Mediterranean deployment. The deployment was subsequently cancelled to permit her to participate in a special Chief of Naval Operations

Chief of Naval Operations

The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...

 project. She spent the remaining months of 1978 in the evaluation of equipment associated with that project, with periods at sea alternating with periods in port devoted to equipment maintenance. She departed Groton on 27 November 1978 to conclude 1978 at sea conducting activities related to the special project.

1979-1988

Icex-85 03May85 Northpole

1988-1991

From around 1988 to 1991, Trepang enjoyed a long stay in drydock at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for an overhaul. She then moved to her new home port of Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. During her voyage from Kittery to Charleston late in 1991 she transited beneath under the 1991 "Perfect Storm".

1991-1998

During the remainder of her career, Trepang conducted many "fast-attack submarine" drill missions as well as a Mediterranean cruise interrupted by a stay of many weeks in La Maddalena

La Maddalena

La Maddalena is a town and comune located on the island with the same name, in northern Sardinia, part of the province of Olbia-Tempio, Italy.-The town:...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. During her Mediterranean deployment, she participated in NATO operations off Bosnia-Herzegovina, became the first American submarine in history to perform peacetime operations with a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 submarine—namely U-29 (S178), condcuted a secret mission tailing a drug-smuggling ship, and trained with SEAL

United States Navy SEALs

The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...

 Team 6.

During these years, one of Trepangs sister ship

Sister ship

A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...

s, was considered her "sister submarine," and the two often docked near one another.

After Trans World Airlines

Trans World Airlines

Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...

 Flight 800

TWA Flight 800

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...

 exploded and crashed off Long Island, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, on 17 July 1996, one of the theories

TWA Flight 800 alternative theories

TWA Flight 800 alternative theories allege that the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 was due to causes other than those determined by the National Transportation Safety Board , the official investigative agency...

 about the cause of the disaster posited by various unofficial invesistigators held that a missile

Missile

Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...

 fired by the U.S. armed forces had shot the airliner

Airliner

An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...

 down. The U.S. Navy confirmed that Trepang was operating off the coast of Long Island at the time of the disaster but had nothing to do with the crash.

Trepang conducted her final six-month deployment to the Mediterranean between June and December 1997. In late 1998, she circumnavigated the world in order to use up as much nuclear fuel

Nuclear fuel

Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...

 as possible prior to decommissioning

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

. She was awarded during this time the Joint Meritorious Unit Award

Joint Meritorious Unit Award

The Joint Meritorious Unit Award is a military award that was established on June 4, 1981 by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982...

 (reasons unknown).

Decommissioning and disposal

Trepang was decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 on 1 June 1999 at Bremerton

Bremerton, Washington

Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...

, Washington, and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...

in Bremerton was completed on 7 April 2000.