After decommissioning in April 1991, she was transferred to the United States Navy. As USNSHiddensee (185NS9201), the ship was extensively evaluated at the Naval Air Warfare Center at Solomons, Maryland, and used for naval exercises. Following naval budget cuts, the ship was removed from service in April 1996, and joined the Battleship Cove fleet on 14 June 1997.[2]
Battleship Cove could not look after her due to lack of funding. Her hull deteriorated until the decision was made to remove her from the collection. She was quietly towed off to be scrapped in Bridgeport, Connecticut in early October 2023.[3][4] The decision to scrap the ship came as a result of significant deterioration in the ship's hull, which would have necessitated a costly dry docking to repair. Chris Nardi, the chief operating officer for Battleship Cove, also noted that "The Hiddensee, as designed by the Russian shipyard ... they were designed to be definitely disposable in terms of the way they were constructed", which also militated against trying to repair the vessel. In addition, two other vessels owned by the group, the submarine Lionfish and the destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. were already undergoing repairs at the time the decision was made.[5]
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