USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) is an Impeccable-class ocean surveillance ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 2001 and assigned to Military Sealift Command's Special Missions Program.
USNS Impeccable
Two Chinese trawlers stop directly in front of Impeccable, forcing the ship to conduct an emergency "all stop" in order to avoid collision.
One Chinese crewmen waves a Chinese flag, while another uses a grappling hook to try to snag Impeccable's towed sonar array.
Impeccable in 2009
Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System
The AN/UQQ-2 Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS), colloquially referred to as the ship's "Tail", is a towed array sonar system of the United States Navy.
USNS Invincible as originally configured. Aft view of equipment for the Surveillance Towed-Array Sensor System (SURTASS), 1987.
USNS Able (T-AGOS-20) aft view of SURTASS equipment.