A US Navy guided-missile destroyer spent four days last month without working toilets, galley services, and air conditioning in the blistering heat of the South China Sea after the warship lost power.
The incident was due to an engineering failure aboard the warship, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement, another setback as concerns mount over the heavy strain on the US Navy due to the Iran war and global commitments.
The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was on routine operations in the Indo-Pacific on July 24 when an “engineering casualty involving its generators” occurred, Navy Cmdr. Matthew Comer, spokesperson for the 7th Fleet, said.
Life Without Power
Besides losing the ability to maneuver on its own, the almost 10,000-ton warship saw its galley services, toilets, air conditioning, and potable water impacted, Comer said.
“There were no injuries to the crew, who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness in their response,” Comer’s statement said.
Daytime temperatures in the South China Sea in late July averaged between 89 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit, weather records show.
The Experience
Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain who said he endured about four hours aboard a destroyer without power once near Puerto Rico, described what it’s like in such a scenario.
“It would have been quite stressful. Operations officers were worried about crew morale and operational concerns, the engineers were focused on how to solve it and the navigator was worried about the direction they were drifting and what weather was coming,” Schuster said.
“I can assure you four hours in the waters southeast of Puerto Rico is not nearly as stressful as four days in the South China Sea,” he added.
The Response
A second US warship, the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls, provided cooked meals to the Benfold during the power loss. Other ships in the Japan-based USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group also provided aid during the four days the Benfold was powerless before being towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines for repairs, according to Comer.
The repairs were completed by August 8, and the ship returned to duty.
Broader Concerns
The incident comes as the US Navy is under increasing scrutiny after reports of low morale and mental health concerns aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East after it endured more than 200 days without a port call during operations against Iran.
Analysts and Democratic lawmakers have said the US Navy is being stretched thin by the demands of the Iran war and the Navy’s global commitments.
The Benfold incident is the second loss of power to have hit a US Navy destroyer in Pacific Command’s area of responsibility in recent months. In May, the USS Higgins lost power and propulsion for several hours in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Bottom Line
The USS Benfold, a US Navy destroyer, spent four days without power in the South China Sea in late July, leaving the crew without air conditioning, toilets, or hot food in sweltering heat. The ship lost power due to an engineering failure and was towed to the Philippines for repairs. The incident highlights growing concerns about the US Navy being stretched thin by the Iran war and global commitments.
