Submarine USS Alexandria arrives in Bremerton for eventual decommissioning

The nuclear fast-attack submarine USS Alexandria has arrived at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to begin its decommissioning and eventual deconstruction.

The Navy released photos showing Alexandria arriving at the shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., on Monday.

Launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia in June 1990 and commissioned in June 1991, Alexandria was one of 62 Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines built between 1972 and 1996. The type was designed to hunt for Soviet ballistic missile submarines during the Cold War. It was the largest class of submarines by number built by the United States.

The Navy has been phasing out Los Angeles-class subs in favor of Virginia-class submarines, which are quieter and can operate in shallower waters.

The Navy announced April 26 that it would decommission three Cold War-era nuclear-powered submarines: Alexandria, Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Newport News and Ohio-class missile submarine USS Georgia.

The Los Angeles-class boats were built at Newport News and at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is the only location in the United States capable of deactivating the nuclear reactors of submarines and breaking the hulls apart for parts recycling and scrap.

The reactors are placed in special containers and taken by barge through Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean and then up the Columbia River to be offloaded at the Hanford Nuclear Facility in eastern Washington, where they are placed in a specially designated trench built to store nuclear waste.

USS Alexandria was most recently homeported at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego.

Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Alexandria arrives at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., on July 13, 2026, to begin the inactivation process after 35 years of service. (Kimberli Ibarra Ruiz/U.S. Navy)