 In January 1960, for example, she served as communication relay and support ship for the bathyscaphe "Trieste" in Project Nekton; she towed the bathyscaphe some 260 nautical miles (482 kilometers) from Guam to the vicinity of the Challenger Deep, where, on 23 January 1960, "Trieste" descended to a record 37,000 feet (11,278 meters).Hydrophone gear aboard "Wandank" was still able to communicate with the craft once on the bottom, although the sound waves took seven seconds to make a one-way journey from ship to bathyscaphe, which was nearly seven miles deep.On occasion, "Wandank"s operations nonetheless assumed a dangerous character during tropical storms.