[6] Her unrefueled range at 13 knots was 10,000 miles (16,000 km)[2] Apache's aft deck was largely open to accommodate a number of different roles.

The winch had 2,500 feet (760 m) of 2+1⁄4-inch IWRC 6×37 wire rope with a poured end fitting and a breaking strain of 424,000 lbf (1.89 MN).

[6][10][11] The second winch was a Lake Shore traction machine capable of handling up to 15-inch (380 mm) synthetic hawsers used for smaller, shorter distance tows.

[6][11] The stern employed a tow-pin box capable of capturing either the wire or synthetic towing lines, as well as Norman pins at the quarters.

[6] On 22 May 1984, MSC held its first observance of National Maritime Day aboard Apache to commemorate the merchant seamen who were killed during America's wars.

[12] In the summer of 1987, Apache was deployed on a 3-week research mission to study the current state of the sunken Civil War ship USS Monitor.

The tug hosted 24 NOAA scientists and technicians who examined the wreck with an unmanned submersible called "Deep Drone".

[13] In August 1991, USNS Antares was crossing the Atlantic with equipment for the 24th Infantry Division in Saudi Arabia when she suffered disabling leaks in her boilers.

[16] The ship was crossing the Atlantic to begin a deployment in the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet in November 2001 when she rescued four people from a sinking 80-foot sailboat approximately 1,400 miles southwest of the Azores.

[17] In December 2002, Apache and an embarked detachment from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 trained Croatian Navy divers off Split.

[20] Her visit to Haifa, Israel was cut short when she sailed on 13 July 2006 as a precautionary measure due to fighting in the area.

She and her embarked detachment of divers were asked to survey wrecks in the harbor and assist in the repair of the port's commercial pier.

[22] While deployed with the Sixth Fleet, in August 2022, Apache embarked the Navy's Cable-operated Unmanned Recovery Vehicle (CURV) 21 to locate and salvage an F/A 18E Super Hornet which had blown off the deck of USS Harry S.

[23] On 1 October 2015 the American-flagged containership El Faro sank in high winds and seas near the eye wall of Hurricane Joaquin east of the Bahamas.

Bad weather in the Atlantic forced Apache to divert from a direct course to the wreck site, so she had little more than four days to search before the expected end of the batteries.

[28] Apache refueled in Puerto Rico, and returned to the scene of the sinking to search for the mast until the $1 million contract with the National Transportation Safety Board ran out.

Apache was deployed for public relations and MSC recruiting purposes at a number of events where ship tours were offered.

These include:[55][53] Meritorious Unit Commendation Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal: 1993 and 1994 for her service in Operation Restore Hope, and 1996 for her service in Operation Uphold Democracy Navy Unit Commendation: 1986 National Defense Service Medal MSC Admiral of the Ocean Sea Mariner's Plaque: 2006 recognizing heroism in fighting the fire aboard Tahoma Reefer in Liberia[20] Department of the Navy Safety Excellence Award: 2006 recognizing no lost-time accidents in 2+1⁄2 years[20] MSC Maritime Excellence "E" Award: 2020[56]