US Navy destroyer with 300 sailors aboard broke down for 4 days in the Pacific

Breakdown and Response

A US Navy destroyer with about 300 sailors aboard lost power for four days in the Pacific Ocean last month after an engineering casualty, the Navy confirmed in a statement. The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, reported an engineering casualty involving its generators on July 24, according to Navy spokesman Commander Matthew Comer.

The failure caused a loss of power aboard the ship, forcing the crew to go without drinking water, meals, functioning toilets, and air conditioning for the duration of the outage, Comer said. The ship is assigned to the 7th Fleet and was operating in the South China Sea at the time, as reported by the Jerusalem Post, which cited CNN. The Jerusalem Post added that the incident became public on Friday, when it was first reported by USNI News, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Navy confirmed that the crew suffered no injuries. Meals were provided to the USS Benfold by another ship during the incident, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing the Navy. The ship normally accompanies the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, which left Vietnam this month for the Middle East, the Jerusalem Post noted.

Broader Context

The breakdown comes as the Pentagon faces questions about the quality of life aboard naval vessels and the military's ability to supply ships during the conflict with Iran, the South China Morning Post reported. Democratic lawmakers are calling for investigations into conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Reports last week revealed that the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has spent a record-setting 250 uninterrupted days at sea, has experienced shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products, while crew members have suffered from stress and poor mental health, the South China Morning Post reported. The Jerusalem Post similarly reported reports of worsening conditions on the Lincoln, including unhygienic bathrooms and lack of food.

Several US lawmakers wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressing concerns about the Lincoln crew's wellbeing, according to the Jerusalem Post. The letter read: "As the Secretary of Defense, you [Hegseth] are accountable to the men and women who serve our nation."

The George Washington is set to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, the Jerusalem Post reported, though the Lincoln had spent over two hundred days at sea.

Expert Commentary

Former Navy captain Charles Schuster commented on the USS Benfold incident, saying it would have been stressful for the crew. Schuster recounted a similar experience lasting four hours near Puerto Rico.

"It would have been quite stressful," Schuster told CNN, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post. "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."

"The crew was worried about weather, food and what was next. The commanding officer and executive officer were worried about all of that and when help would arrive," he added. "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."