The bug
As of 18w30a, the first snapshot for 1.13.1, tridents despawn when thrown in survival mode.
In 1.13, they did not despawn (but did disappear visually due to MC-125834).
Code analysis
Code analysis can be found in this comment.
Linked issues
is duplicated by 2
testing discovered 1
Comments 16
Based on the behavior in 1.13 before this bug and in Bedrock edition, it seems intended that creative mode tridents despawn
Confirmed for 1.14.3 Pre-Release 3