Nuclear Submarine Spotted Floating up the East River, Heading Toward Groton, CT

Viewers gazing out over the East River on Aug. 20 were stunned to see what appeared to be a Trident nuclear powered submarine floating up the river on the back of a barge.

When operational under its own power, it is designed to be a stealth vessel that can launch Tomahawk missles at a land base target, which the hull on the barge was not yet equipped to do.

It was also anything but stealth.

One of those who spotted the vessle was Heather Stein, a licensed real estate agent who was showing an apartment along the East River when she spotted the submarine on a barge being pulled by tugboats up the river.

“’Wow!’ went through my mind as it was the most unusual, eye-catching object I have ever seen when showing an apartment,” Stein told Straus News. “You never know what’s going to float by Manhattan island!”

The destination of the submarine has been identified to Straus News as Naval Submarine Base New London located in Groton, CT.

WarshipCam, a blog focused on combat ships, called the submarine a future Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, according to a post on X.

The US Navy web site said there are currently 22 Virgina call subs in service. It could not be learned if the vessel on the barge was part of a whole new submarine or was going to be retroffied into an existing attack submarines. The vessels are replacing the Los Angeles class submarines and are designed to seek and destroy enemy ships and can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles at land base targets thousands of miles away.

Naval Submarine Base New London had not returned a call seeking comment at presstime. A US Navy web said it has redesigned approximately 20 percent of the Virgina class ships to reduce their acquisition costs and it said most of the changes are found in the bow area.

The Virginia class also carries out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions and supports battle group operations and can engage in mine warfare, the Navy web site says.

The Navy said that as enemy forces increase their own submarine fleets, the United States force relies on its technological superiority and the speed, endurance, mobility, stealth, and payload afforded by nuclear power to retain its preeminence in the undersea battlespace.

It also gave an interesting new twist to East River maritime traffic where sea planes, ferries and pleasure craft are the norm. “A tug pulling a submarine cockpit certainly helps sell New York’s wonder and beauty and had me humming all day, ‘We all live in a yellow submarine,’” said Stein, who works for Sotheby’s real estate division.