A live-fire exercise, part of Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, 2012, sank the ex-USS Concord in waters 15,390 feet deep, 61 miles off the coast of Kauai at 4:12 p.m. Tuesday.

A sink exercise, or SINKEX, benefits the U.S. Navy and participating allies and partners by providing crews the opportunity to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against surface targets, which enhances combat readiness of deployable units.

The HMCS Victoria from Canada launched a Mk 48 torpedo to sin kthe ex-USS Concord.

Former Navy vessels used in SINKEXs are prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Strict environmental compliance is observed during all SINKEXs.

Surveys are conducted to ensure that humans and marine mammals are not in an area where they could be harmed during the event.

The ex-USS Concord was a Mars-class combat stores ship commissioned in November 1968, decommissioned and transferred to Military Sealift Command in October 1992 and deactivated in August 2009.

Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands.

The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans.

RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971.