The hull was towed to Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1995 where she was finished by Halter Marine Inc.[3] She was launched on 28 August 1998 and was delivered to the Navy on 22 March 2001 which assigned her to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) Special Missions Program.

The ship's catamaran-type small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) design prevents the vessel from rolling in heavy seas and gives additional deck space for storing the acoustic equipment.

[5] The mission of Impeccable is to directly support the Navy by using SURTASS passive and active low frequency sonar arrays to detect and track undersea threats.

[citation needed] On 5 March 2009, Impeccable was in the South China Sea monitoring submarine activity[8] when it was approached by a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) frigate, which crossed her bow at a range of approximately 100 yards without first making contact.

[20][21][22] On 12 March 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama gave the go-ahead to send the guided missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon to the South China Sea to protect Impeccable while operating in that area.

For example, Raul Pedrozo, writing in the Chinese Journal of International Law, concludes that "all nations may legitimately engage in military activities in foreign exclusive economic zones, without prior notice to, or consent of, the coastal State concerned.

Rear Admiral Wang Dengping, political commissar of the Armament Department of the Chinese Navy, condemned Impeccable's activities, stating that "Innocent passage by naval vessels from other countries in the Territorial waters in the Special Economic Zone is acceptable, but not allowed otherwise"[31] under the Convention.

"They [Impeccable crew] initially spotted only eight people on the partially submerged vessel," said Lt. Cory Hilgart, the theater anti-submarine watch officer at Commander, Task Force 74.

Impeccable's master immediately deemed assistance was required and began preparations to deploy their rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to rescue the personnel.