Navy decommissions fast-attack submarine USS San Juan

The Navy gave a ceremonial send-off to USS San Juan on Thursday, decommissioning the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington after 38 years of service.

“From the day I assumed command, the mission I set forth before this crew was clear: to remain ready, willing and able in every task and challenge we were called upon to meet,” said Capt. Justin Hoff, San Juan’s final commanding officer. “Through steadfast dedication, professionalism, sacrifice and pride, the crew of San Juan have fulfilled that mission with distinction.”

Navy officials, current and former crew members, family members and admirers gathered at Keyport on Naval Base Kitsap to bid San Juan “fair winds and following seas,” the Navy said in a statement.

USS San Juan was named after the capital of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. The decommissioning came on the anniversary of its commissioning, Aug. 6, 1988.

San Juan will be “recycled” by the Navy. Its usable equipment, components and weapons will be removed, and the hull will be cut up for scrap. The highly radioactive nuclear reactor and adjacent compartments will be sealed and shipped to the nuclear waste disposal center at Hanford Site in eastern Washington.

USS San Juan participates in a photo exercise for Operation Nanook on Aug. 29, 2023. (Alex Fairbanks/U.S. Navy)

The Navy has been steadily retiring the Cold War-era Los Angeles-class submarines as newer Virginia-class submarines began to enter the service in 2004.

Los Angeles-class submarines were built as “hunter-killer” nuclear-powered fast-attack boats of about 6,900 tons that could find and, if necessary, sink Soviet ballistic missile subs such as the massive 48,000-ton Typhoon class, which carried 20 nuclear missiles, each with multiple warheads. The Navy commissioned 62 boats of the class between 1976 and 1996. At its peak, it was the biggest class of submarines by numbers in the world.

Currently, there are 18 Los Angeles-class submarines that are “active, in commission,” according to the official Naval Vessel Register. An additional six are starting their decommissioning and won’t be deployed again.

San Juan was the first of the “improved” Los Angeles-class submarines that included a strengthened sail to surface through ice. In 1993, San Juan became the first Los Angeles-class sub to “punch through” ice in the Arctic. Other upgrades included quieter propulsion, advanced sonar and the ability to lay mines through its torpedo tubes.

San Juan was involved in two notable incidents during its career.

The ballistic missile submarine USS Kentucky was sailing on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., in March 1998, when it was struck by San Juan, which was submerged. There were no injuries reported. Navy officials at the time described the incident as “a minor bump,” according to CNN.

On the evening of March 13, 2007, while sailing with the Enterprise Strike Group in the Atlantic Ocean off Jacksonville, Fla., the Navy reported “indications” that San Juan was in distress. The submarine had not reported in to the strike group at a preset time. At least one ship reported seeing a red flare, a sign of distress.

Planes and helicopters were launched to try to locate the ship. The Navy began notifying families of the 140 crew members that the submarine was missing. The following morning, San Juan reestablished communications with the group and said it was experiencing no problems.

Lt. Cmdr. Chris Loundermon, a Navy spokesman at the time, said the crew of San Juan “had missed a communication period they were not aware of.”

The incident was called a “false alarm” by the Navy.

In November 2009, San Juan was the first U.S. Navy vessel to visit South Africa since the fall of apartheid in 1994.

During its final underway in 2023, San Juan navigated the Northwest Passage across the top of North America alongside Canadian and allied forces.