# USS Sampson (DDG-102)
**USS Sampson (DDG-102)** is an [Arleigh Burke](https://www.edgepedia.org/arleigh-burke)-class guided-missile destroyer of the [United States Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-navy), built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, and commissioned at Boston, Massachusetts, on November 3, 2007[1](https://www.navysite.de/dd/ddg102.htm). She is the fourth U.S. destroyer named for Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson, who served from 1857 to 1902 and commanded the North Atlantic Squadron during the Spanish-American War in 1898[2](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2265032/uss-sampson-returns-from-deployment/). Homeported at Naval Station Everett, Washington, the ship has deployed to the Western Pacific, the [Indo-Pacific](https://www.edgepedia.org/indo-pacific), and Latin American waters, and in 2025 took part in counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific[3](https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169871/destroyers-ddg-51/destroyers-ddg-51/) • [4](https://www.c3f.navy.mil/News/Article/4247512/us-coast-guard-uss-sampson-conduct-drug-interdiction-in-eastern-pacific/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Class and flight | Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided-missile destroyer, all-steel construction, with hangars for two MH-60 helicopters[5](https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/Warships/By-Class/US-Navy-Destroyer-Ship-Class-DDG/) |
| Built | Keel laid March 20, 2005; launched September 16, 2006; commissioned November 3, 2007 at Boston[1](https://www.navysite.de/dd/ddg102.htm) |
| Namesake | Fourth U.S. destroyer named for Rear Adm. William Thomas Sampson (1857–1902), commander of the North Atlantic Squadron in the Spanish-American War[2](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2265032/uss-sampson-returns-from-deployment/) |
| Armament | 96 Mk 41 Vertical Launch System cells for Tomahawk, Standard, and ESSM missiles, plus a 5-inch gun and torpedo tubes[6](https://comptroller.war.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/docs/fy2004_weabook.pdf) |
| Homeport | Naval Station Everett, Washington[3](https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169871/destroyers-ddg-51/destroyers-ddg-51/) |
| Notable 2022 deployment | Seven months to the U.S. 3rd and 7th Fleets, including Tonga tsunami relief and F-35C recovery; over 40,000 nautical miles[7](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3125404/uss-sampson-returns-to-homeport/) |
| Current overhaul | FY2026 Depot Modernization Period at Vigor Marine, Seattle, under a $252,849,606 firm-fixed-price contract awarded April 13, 2026[8](https://govtribe.com/award/federal-contract-award/definitive-contract-n0002426c4411) |
## Namesake
Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson led the official Navy investigation into the sinking of USS Maine and, during the Spanish-American War, was in command of the North Atlantic Squadron.[9](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sampson-ii.html) Four U.S. Navy ships have carried his name: USS Sampson (DD-63), decommissioned in 1921 and sold for scrapping in 1936; Sampson (DD-394), which patrolled off Newport after the Japanese attack on [Pearl Harbor](https://www.edgepedia.org/pearl-harbor); Sampson (DDG-10); and the present DDG-102[9](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sampson-ii.html) • [10](https://www.navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/SAMPSON_DDG_102).
## Construction and class characteristics
Sampson was built at [Bath Iron Works](https://www.edgepedia.org/bath-iron-works), where her keel was laid on March 20, 2005, and she was launched on September 16, 2006[1](https://www.navysite.de/dd/ddg102.htm). As a Flight IIA ship, she belongs to the variant introduced with DDG 79 that added a pair of helicopter hangars for two organic LAMPS MK III MH-60 helicopters, blast-hardened bulkheads, a distributed electrical system, and advanced networked systems[5](https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/Warships/By-Class/US-Navy-Destroyer-Ship-Class-DDG/). Flight IIA destroyers displace 9,300 tons full load, are 471 feet long, and carry a Vertical Launching System accommodating 96 missiles, including Tomahawk, SM-2, and ASROC[6](https://comptroller.war.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/docs/fy2004_weabook.pdf). The class is equipped with the Aegis combat system, an integrated collection of sensors and weapons[11](https://www.congress.gov/crs-products/product/pdf/IF/IF11679/44).
## Deployments
**2015 Western Pacific deployment.** Sampson returned to Naval Station San Diego on June 1, 2015, from a 212-day independent deployment to the Western Pacific[2](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2265032/uss-sampson-returns-from-deployment/). In December 2014 the ship was one of the first naval vessels to respond to the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 in the [Java Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/java-sea), contributing more than 650 search hours to the Indonesian-led effort before detaching on January 15, 2015[12](https://www.cpf.navy.mil/Newsroom/News/Article/2749387/uss-sampson-and-uss-fort-worth-detach-from-airasia-search/). The crew of more than 300 sailors, assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 23, exercised with the [Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-maritime-self-defense-force) in Multi-Sail 2015, and Detachment 7 of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35 completed more than 860 flight hours embarked[2](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2265032/uss-sampson-returns-from-deployment/).
**2021–2022 Indo-Pacific deployment.** Sampson departed Everett on December 30, 2021, for U.S. 7th Fleet and returned on August 11, 2022, after seven months[7](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3125404/uss-sampson-returns-to-homeport/). The ship conducted independent operations in and around the [South China Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-china-sea), provided humanitarian aid to Tonga after tsunami damage, and assisted in the recovery and salvage of the F-35C Lightning II that had crashed off [USS Carl Vinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/uss-carl-vinson) (CVN 70)[7](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3125404/uss-sampson-returns-to-homeport/). During the deployment she took part in exercises including SHAREM, Maritime Partnership Exercise 2022, MCSOFEX, East China Sea patrols, a [Taiwan Strait](https://www.edgepedia.org/taiwan-strait) transit, and RIMPAC 2022, where she served as air defense commander for Task Force 170 and surface action group commander[7](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3125404/uss-sampson-returns-to-homeport/). She completed 19 replenishments-at-sea, two vertical replenishments, and traveled over 40,000 nautical miles[7](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3125404/uss-sampson-returns-to-homeport/).
**2024–2025 operations.** In the first half of 2024, Sampson joined the SOUTHCOM-led Southern Seas 2024 sequence with USS George Washington (CVN 73), conducting partner-navy engagements from Argentina and Brazil to Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay[1](https://www.navysite.de/dd/ddg102.htm). On June 22, 2025, sailors aboard Sampson, working with the U.S. Coast Guard, seized approximately 7,850 pounds of contraband during a visit, board, search and seizure operation in the Eastern Pacific[4](https://www.c3f.navy.mil/News/Article/4247512/us-coast-guard-uss-sampson-conduct-drug-interdiction-in-eastern-pacific/). In August 2025 the Navy deployed Sampson to the Caribbean in support of counter-narcotics operations; she operated in the Pacific off the coast of Panama before returning to [Naval Base San Diego](https://www.edgepedia.org/naval-base-san-diego) in September 2025, having been replaced in the U.S. Southern Command area by USS Stockdale[13](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-navy/2026/07/15/uss-sampson-spills-roughly-2000-gallons-of-diesel-fuel-into-seattle-harbor/).
## Maintenance and the 2026 fuel spill
Naval Sea Systems Command awarded Vigor Marine LLC of Portland, Oregon, a $252,849,606 firm-fixed-price contract on April 13, 2026, for the maintenance, modernization, and repair of Sampson's Fiscal 2026 Depot Modernization Period, with ultimate completion by March 31, 2028[8](https://govtribe.com/award/federal-contract-award/definitive-contract-n0002426c4411). A related underwater hull preservation contract set a dry-dock period in Seattle running from July 22, 2026, through February 14, 2027[14](https://console.sweetspotgov.com/federal-contracts/7d85e45e-c317-56e3-ac61-3625c8341281).
During defueling operations at the shipyard in July 2026, an estimated 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the surrounding water of Seattle harbor; an initial estimate of about 5,000 gallons was later reduced. The Navy installed an oil containment boom before the incident, and the U.S. Coast Guard determined the Navy was at fault[13](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-navy/2026/07/15/uss-sampson-spills-roughly-2000-gallons-of-diesel-fuel-into-seattle-harbor/).
## References
1. [USS Sampson (DDG 102), Navysite.de](https://www.navysite.de/dd/ddg102.htm)
2. [USS Sampson Returns From Deployment, U.S. Navy News Stories, June 1, 2015](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2265032/uss-sampson-returns-from-deployment/)
3. [Destroyers (DDG 51) Fact File, U.S. Navy](https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169871/destroyers-ddg-51/destroyers-ddg-51/)
4. [U.S. Coast Guard, USS Sampson Conduct Drug Interdiction In Eastern Pacific, U.S. 3rd Fleet](https://www.c3f.navy.mil/News/Article/4247512/us-coast-guard-uss-sampson-conduct-drug-interdiction-in-eastern-pacific/)
5. [U.S. Navy Destroyer Ship Class (DDG), Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet](https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/Warships/By-Class/US-Navy-Destroyer-Ship-Class-DDG/)
6. [FY2004 Defense Budget, Aircraft Programs / DDG-51 description, Department of Defense Comptroller](https://comptroller.war.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/docs/fy2004_weabook.pdf)
7. [USS Sampson Returns to Homeport, U.S. Navy News Stories, August 12, 2022](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3125404/uss-sampson-returns-to-homeport/)
8. [Definitive Contract N0002426C4411, GovTribe](https://govtribe.com/award/federal-contract-award/definitive-contract-n0002426c4411)
9. [Sampson II (DD-394), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sampson-ii.html)
10. [SAMPSON DDG 102, NavalCoverMuseum](https://www.navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/SAMPSON_DDG_102)
11. [Navy DDG(X) Next-Generation Destroyer Program: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service](https://www.congress.gov/crs-products/product/pdf/IF/IF11679/44)
12. [USS Sampson and USS Fort Worth Detach from AirAsia Search, U.S. Pacific Fleet, January 15, 2015](https://www.cpf.navy.mil/Newsroom/News/Article/2749387/uss-sampson-and-uss-fort-worth-detach-from-airasia-search/)
13. [USS Sampson spills roughly 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel into Seattle harbor, Military Times, July 15, 2026](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-navy/2026/07/15/uss-sampson-spills-roughly-2000-gallons-of-diesel-fuel-into-seattle-harbor/)
14. [USS SAMPSON Underwater Hull Preservation, SweetSpotGov federal contracts](https://console.sweetspotgov.com/federal-contracts/7d85e45e-c317-56e3-ac61-3625c8341281)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Water transport › Warships and naval vessels › Destroyers, frigates, and corvettes › Titles Sh to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license