port visit in Brisbane, and a Golden Shellback simultaneous crossing of the Equator and International Dateline on 13 August 1993. Decommissioning and disposal William H. Bates was decommissioned and simultaneously stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 February 2000. She returned to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program began on 1 October 2002 and was completed on 30 October 2002. Notes References NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive William H. Bates (SSN-680) External links USS William H. Bates (SSN 680) Association Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi Sturgeon-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1971 ships