US Navy probes power failure aboard destroyer USS Benfold in South China Sea

Published Aug 18, 02:00 PM UTC

The U.S. Navy is investigating a power failure aboard the destroyer USS Benfold that occurred on July 24 in the South China Sea. An engineering casualty involving a generator caused the ship to lose power for several days, impacting potable water, galley services, toilets, and air conditioning. No crew injuries were reported. The ship was towed by commercial tugboats to Subic Bay, Philippines, arriving on July 28. Power was restored on July 30, and repairs were completed by August 7. The USS Robert Smalls provided meals to the crew during the outage. The Benfold departed Subic Bay on August 8 with all systems functioning normally. Experts note such prolonged power loss is extremely rare and would have been a difficult experience for the crew, who relied on each other and support from other ships in the George Washington Carrier Strike Group.