USS Benfold restored to service after four-day power loss in South China Sea

The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold suffered a complete loss of power for four days while operating in the South China Sea last month, prompting emergency support, towing operations and repairs in the Philippines, it has emerged.

According to the US Navy's 7th Fleet, the engineering casualty affected essential onboard services including plumbing, food preparation, toilets and air conditioning. No injuries were reported among the crew. The incident occurred in July but was not publicly disclosed until several weeks later.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer received support from other naval assets in the area, including the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Robert Smalls. US officials said nearby air and surface forces were available to ensure the vessel remained protected while disabled.

Contracted tugboats towed the ship to Subic Bay in the Philippines, where specialists from the Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center met the vessel on July 28th. Crew members were provided with accommodation ashore and power was restored on July 30th.

Repair work continued through early August, with the Navy reporting that all required engineering and support system repairs had been completed by August 7th. The vessel left Subic Bay the following day and resumed operations with engineering, combat and crew-support systems functioning normally.

Though the cause of the casualty remains under investigation, a spate of maintenance problems on vessels in the US fleet has prompted concern among US lawmakers, both in terms of the fitness of the vessels themselves, but also in the capability of US ship repair in the event of a full-scale military deployment.