USS Toledo ( SSN - 769 ) USS " Toledo " ( SSN - 769 ) , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Toledo , Ohio . The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News , Virginia on 10 June 1988 and her keel was laid down on 6 May 1991 . She was launched on 28 August 1993 sponsored by Mrs . Sabra Smith , and commissioned on 24 February 1995 , with Commander Jack Loye III in command . The submarine was a cover story of the 6 April 1998 issue " US News & World Report " . Deployments . The USS " Toledo " returned to the Naval Submarine Base New London in mid - April 2003 after having taken part in Operation Iraqi Freedom . On 7 December 2004 , " Toledo " returned to Groton , Connecticut , after a six - month deployment in the Persian Gulf with the carrier strike group that included port calls in Crete , Dubai , and Bahrain . Her route home from Bahrain was unusual , rounding the Cape of Good Hope rather than using the Suez Canal . Once back in the North Atlantic , she was diverted for a classified drug interdiction mission with the Joint Interagency Task Force – South in the Caribbean Sea . On 31 January 2006 , " Toledo " again departed for a six - month deployment to CENTCOM . Port calls included Augusta Bay , Dubai , the British island territory of Diego Garcia and La Maddalena . The ship returned from this deployment on 31 July 2006 and a change of command ceremony took place in 2009 where Commander Reckamp relieved Commander Goldman . " Toledo " left for another six - month deployment on 23 July 2010 . In December 2010 " Toledo " did a port call in Haifa . Commander Reckamp was received by the Haifa City Major Yona Yahav in the City Hall as is customary for visiting commanders of warships doing port calls in Haifa . On 20 January 2011 , " Toledo " returned to Groton , Connecticut after a six - month deployment that included port calls in Cyprus , Bahrain , and Haifa . Maintenance . Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded a contract from the U . S . Navy for maintenance work , known as a depot modernization period , on the nuclear - powered submarine USS " Toledo " ( SSN 769 ) . The initial planning contract was valued at approximately $ 34 . 7 million . The final value , including the actual execution , was $ 178 . 5 million . The ship arrived in December 2006 to Newport News , VA and the work was completed in March 2009 . The project was delayed more than eight months because of more than 2 , 000 project changes . This was a competitive award under a Naval Sea Systems Command ( NAVSEA ) multiple award contract . In July 2009 two hull cracks , including one in the pressure hull , were discovered during a routine inspection . The Navy has begun an investigation . Although the Navy and Northrop Grumman launched two investigations into welding practices at the yard while " Toledo " was under maintenance , the cracks do not appear to be related to welds . Kursk - Toledo collision hypothesis . French filmmaker Jean - Michel Carré , in " Kursk : a Submarine in Troubled Waters " , which aired on 7 January 2005 on French TV channel " France 2 " , alleged that " Kursk " sank because of a sequence of events triggered by a collision with the " Toledo " . According to Carré , " Kursk " was performing tests with " Shkval " torpedoes and the tests were being observed by two US submarines on duty in the region , USS " Toledo " and .