US destroyer lost power for 4 days in South China Sea
What's new: USS Benfold was towed to Subic Bay for repairs after the outage knocked out toilets, air conditioning and galley service.
A U.S. Navy destroyer spent four days without power in the South China Sea last month after a generator failure, leaving the ship without toilets, galley service, air conditioning and potable water. The 7th Fleet said USS Benfold lost power on July 24 during routine Indo-Pacific operations and was towed on July 28 to Subic Bay in the Philippines, where electricity was restored two days later. No crew members were injured, the Navy said. Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was operating with the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group at the time. The guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls helped deliver hot meals while the outage lasted. The Navy is investigating the cause of the breakdown.