300 Sailors Left Without Water, Toilets Or AC For Days After U.S. Navy Destroyer Breaks Down

The USS Benfold, carrying about 300 sailors, suffered a generator failure in the Pacific on July 24 that knocked out power, water, toilets and air conditioning for four days, the Navy confirmed. The ship had to be towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines, arriving July 28, with the crew housed ashore until it departed port again on Aug. 8.

The breakdown surfaced publicly only after USNI News reported it, and it lands amid separate Democratic calls for investigation into conditions aboard the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has spent 250 uninterrupted days at sea with reported shortages of food and hygiene supplies.

Navy spokesman Cmdr. Matthew Comer credited the crew's 'resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness' while confirming no injuries. The carrier USS George Washington is now headed to the Middle East to relieve the Lincoln, leaving the Pacific without a U.S. carrier presence for an unspecified period, consistent with the administration's characterization of China as a 'settled force' rather than top adversary.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.