USS Newport News ( SSN - 750 ) USS " Newport News " ( SSN - 750 ) , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Newport News , Virginia . Construction . The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News , Virginia on 19 April 1982 and her keel was laid down on 3 March 1984 . She was launched on 15 March 1986 sponsored by Mrs . Rosemary D . Trible , and commissioned on 3 June 1989 with Commander Mark B . Keef in command . Mayor Jessie M . Rattley presented the ship with a commemorative plaque containing the poem " Newport News , " written by Newport News native Ronald W . Bell , whose poem " Admiral Rickover " also appears upon a plaque aboard the " Los Angeles " class submarine . The poem appears on this page with permission from the author : Initial operations . " Newport News " returned to Norfolk , Virginia , following a six - month overseas deployment that included operations in the Middle East . In support of Operation Iraqi Freedom she launched 19 UGM - 109C Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in March 2003 . She deployed in August 2004 , first to take part in joint operations with allied navies in the North Atlantic , then to the U . S . Central Command area of operations " in support of national security interests and the global war on terrorism . " Collision with Japanese ship . On 8 January 2007 , " Newport News " was operating submerged in the Arabian Sea south of the Straits of Hormuz when it hit the Japanese tanker " Mogamigawa " . She had been operating as part of Carrier Strike Group 8 ( CSG - 8 ) , organized around the aircraft carrier . The Carrier Strike Group was redeploying to the Indian Ocean to support a maritime cordon during the war in Somalia when the incident happened . The " Newport News " suffered damage to her bow , but there was no damage to the sail , mast or reactor , and she made for port in Bahrain under her own power . Newport News was escorted from the mouth of the Straits of Hormuz to Bahrain by the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Benfold ( DDG - 65 ) . This was due to the fact that the submarine was unable to transit submerged and has no surface defense capabilities . During the transit , Iranian aircraft and warships shadowed the ships . An official of the Kawasaki Kisen Company ( or K Line ) , which owns the tanker , announced that " Mogamigawa " s hull and propellers were damaged . According to a Navy spokesman , the collision occurred as a result of the venturi effect . The tanker drove over the area where the submarine was submerged and this created a sucking effect that forced the submarine upward to the surface . The incident was the third collision between a U . S . nuclear - powered submarine and a Japanese civilian ship . On 29 January , after the boat returned to Bahrain for repairs , administrative personnel actions ( Admiral ' s Mast ) were taken against several members of her crew , which included relieving the boat ' s commanding officer , Commander Matthew A . Weingart , of command due to a lack of confidence in his ability to command . On 10 April the Iranian Fars News Agency reported that the " Newport News " has been leaking radioactive and chemical pollution in the Persian Gulf and claimed that following this formal complaint , the ship departed the gulf for a complete overhaul . The US Navy Fifth Fleet denied this claim restating that damage was limited to the bow and that the sail , mast and reactors were not damaged . On 2 October 2007 the U . S . Navy agreed to pay Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd , the company that owns " Mogamigawa " an undisclosed amount in compensation for the collision .