More Trouble on the High Seas: US Navy Vessel Without Food, AC, or Toilets for Days After Power Outage: Report

Borg Wong/AP Photo, file

A U.S. Navy destroyer was without power for days after a generator problem, leaving sailors without food, toilets, or air conditioning as the vessel was stalled in the South China Sea, according to reports.

None of the roughly 300 sailors on the USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group, were hurt in the incident last month, the Navy said.

It’s the latest embarrassing episode for the Navy, which made numerous headlines last week when word of allegedly horrid conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln became public amid claims of sailors jumping overboard.

The July 24 incident on the USS Benfold happened during “routine operations,” spokesperson Matthew Comer told USNI News in a statement.

“On July 24, 2026, while conducting routine operations in the Indo-Pacific, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) reported an engineering casualty involving its generators, causing a loss of power,” according to the statement.

“There were no injuries to the crew, who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism and unwavering steadiness in their response.”

Other ships in the carrier strike group supported the Benfold during the episode.

The destroyer was towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines on July 28 and repairs were finished by Aug. 7, Comer told the outlet.

By Thursday, the ship was in Yokosuka, Japan, but did not appear to continue on with the other ships in the carrier group, which is heading to the Middle East to relieve the Lincoln, USNI News reported.

Earlier this month, families of the more than 5,000 sailors and Marines on the Lincoln began speaking out about conditions on the ship, which has been deployed for more than 260 days as the Iran war has dragged on.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth insisted conditions on the Lincoln had been “completely misrepresented,” while President Donald Trump told reporters last week the ship’s deployment was “not nearly long enough.”

The issues highlighted in the media come as Trump has demanded design changes on ships that are under construction, which could cost billions, according to reports.

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