USS Trepang ( SSN - 674 ) USS " Trepang " ( SSN - 674 ) , a " Sturgeon " - class attack submarine , was the second ship of the United States Navy 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 s . Construction and commissioning . The contract to build " Trepang " was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton , Connecticut , on 15 July 1966 and her keel was laid down there on 28 October 1967 . She was launched on 27 September 1969 , sponsored by Mrs . Melvin R . Laird , the wife of United States Secretary of Defense Melvin R . Laird , and commissioned on 14 August 1970 with Commander Dean R . Sackett , Jr . , in command . Service history . 1970 - 1971 . Following local operations out of her home port , New London , Connecticut , " Trepang " proceeded to the Arctic early in 1971 . From 22 February to 22 March 1971 , she operated beneath the polar ice cap , conducting extensive tests to provide data for her weapons systems as well as carrying out scientific experiments concerning the movement , composition , and geological history of the ice cap itself . After returning to New London via Faslane , Scotland , " Trepang " was soon deployed to the warmer climes of the Caribbean Sea , departing from New London on 22 April 1971 and subsequently making port at Frederiksted on St . Croix in the United States Virgin Islands for weapons systems acceptance and evaluation trials . Back in New England 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 , Nova Scotia , Canada . For the remainder of 1972 , she operated off the United States East Coast between New London and Fort Lauderdale , Florida . 1973 . An interim four - week drydocking period at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery , Maine , preceded " Trepang " s 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 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 . She participated in several special operations with the Sixth Fleet during the increased tension brought on by the Yom Kippur War in the Middle 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 , 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 , New Hampshire , became her new base . She spent the remainder of 1974 in drydock in annual overhaul . 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 . Departing New London on 1 December 1975 , " Trepang " conducted post - overhaul weapons systems acceptance testing at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico 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 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 Atlantic Treaty Organization ( 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 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 . In October 1978 , the FBI arrested three men — two in St . Louis , one in New York — on charges of conspiring to steal the USS Trepang , based in New London , Ct . The FBI discovered the plot when Edward J . Mendenhall and James W . Cosgrove , two of the accused conspirators , contacted an undercover agent seeking funds for training and supplies . After stealing the submarine , the two intended to kill the crew , put out to sea , and rendezvous with an unidentified buyer . 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 In 1987 , " Trepang " completed a Mediterranean deployment . 1988 - 1991 . In 1988 , " Trepang " visited Bermuda , earned the Battle " E " and visited Scotland following a Northern Atlantic deployment . From 1989 to 1991 , " Trepang " completed overhaul at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard . She then moved to her new home port of Charleston , South Carolina . 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 , Italy , and Haifa , Israel . 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 submarine — namely " U - 29 " ( S178 ) , conducted a secret mission tailing a drug - smuggling ship , and trained with SEAL Team 6 . During these years , one of " Trepang " s sister ships , was considered her " sister submarine , " and the two often docked near one another . After Trans World Airlines Flight 800 exploded and crashed off Long Island , New York , on 17 July 1996 , one of the theories about the cause of the disaster posited by various unofficial investigators held that a missile fired by the U . S . armed forces had shot the airliner 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 as possible prior to decommissioning . She was awarded during this time the Joint Meritorious Unit Award ( reasons unknown ) . Decommissioning and disposal . " Trepang " was decommissioned on 1 June 1999 at Bremerton , Washington , and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day . Her scrapping via the Nuclear - Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton was completed on 7 April 2000 . Components of ' Trepang ' , including mess tables , crew bunks , and engineering , were used in the " Fast Attacks and Boomers : Submarines in the Cold War " exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History from 2000 - 2003 .