In 1970, USS Denver played a key role in the SS Columbia Eagle incident. When the SS Columbia Eagle was commandeered by two mutinous crew members on 14 March 1970, Denver was immediately dispatched to intercept and recapture Columbia Eagle. Denver never really caught up with Columbian Eagle, and sat outside the 12 mile limits of Cambodia for a few days then departed the area.
On 13 July 2000, the ship was participating in a refueling exercise near the end of a deployment. Denver, off the coast of Oahu, collided with its refueling vessel,. Denvers bow was seriously damaged. It remained in port at Pearl Harbor undergoing repairs for two weeks.
Beginning on 17 August 2009 Denver started rendering humanitarian assistance to Taiwan due to the destruction caused by Typhoon Morakot. Denver was tasked independently to render aid, along with two embarked squadrons, HM-14 and HSC-25. They were supporting efforts by airlifting food, medical supplies, and providing heavy lift support for earth moving equipment to assist with recovery efforts. Due to the sensitive nature surrounding Taiwan, especially with the One China policy, the Department of Defense did not publicly announce relief efforts. Denver was planned to be in the vicinity of Taiwan until 22 August 2009 to render aid to the people of Taiwan. Denver had just completed Talisman Saber 2009 and was on her way to her homeport when she was directly tasked with this humanitarian mission.
2008 Hull Swap
In 2008 Denver replaced. The crew from USS Juneau took all relevant gear and documents from the Juneau and transferred them to Denver. Denver was then home-ported at Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, where it would remain until being decommissioned.
During the 2010 Fall Patrol, from 1 September to 25 November 2010, Denver accompanied and on a tour of Southeast Asia. During the patrol, Denver took part in the 60th anniversary of the invasion of Incheon, Korea and assisted the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Megi. On 17 November, Denver, Essex and Harpers Ferry became the first U.S. warships to visit Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour in more than two years.
2011
The ship departed Sasebo in September 2011 for a patrol of the western Pacific. Accompanying the ship were and USS Essex.
2012
In fall 2012, the Denver departed for the 31st MEU fall patrol. During certification exercises around Guam the Denver's boilers suffered severe damage. After 3 weeks of repair at Guam, the Denver left to continue patrol. The Denver finished the patrol with limited power.
Decommissioning
Denver was decommissioned on 14 August 2014 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. She had been the oldest active duty ship in the US Navy behind. Upon Denver's decommissioning, became the Navy's second oldest ship. The US government has offered to sell the ship to Malaysia to replace KD Sri Inderapura which was destroyed by fire in an accident in 2009. The Navy has announced that will replace Denver in Sasebo in summer 2015.
