US Navy stretched thin: destroyer towed to port, carrier crew jumps overboard

A US Navy Aegis destroyer lost all power in the South China Sea for four days, the latest sign of mounting strain on American naval forces in the Indo-Pacific.

According to CNN and other media outlets, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Benfold suffered a generator system failure on July 24 while conducting routine operations in the Indo-Pacific. Matthew Comer, a spokesperson for the US Seventh Fleet, said the breakdown left the ship without power.

CNN reported that for four days, crew members went without drinking water, cooking facilities, flush toilets or air conditioning in temperatures exceeding 32 degrees Celsius. The cruiser USS Robert Smalls, part of the same carrier strike group, ferried cooked meals to the stricken vessel.

A civilian contractor's tugboat towed the Benfold to the Philippines, where it arrived July 28. The ship restored its own power July 30, and repairs were completed Aug. 7.

It was the second time this year that a US destroyer operating in waters under Indo-Pacific Command has lost propulsion. In May, the USS Higgins lost both electrical power and propulsion for several hours due to an electrical system failure. The Navy did not disclose where that incident occurred.

The Arleigh Burke class is the backbone of the US surface fleet, with more than 70 ships in service, each carrying between 329 and 359 crew members.

The George Washington carrier strike group, to which the Benfold belongs, is en route to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been stationed in the Middle East for nine months.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. [AP]

Problems aboard the Lincoln have compounded concerns about operational overextension across the US Navy.

The Lincoln departed San Diego on Nov. 21 last year and was originally scheduled to return in May, but its deployment has stretched beyond 260 days as the war with Iran entered its sixth month. After a brief stop in Guam in December, the carrier spent 208 consecutive days at sea before calling at a port in Oman on July 7, breaking a record for modern aircraft carriers.

CNN reported that early in the war, Iranian attacks severed the Lincoln's supply lines through Bahrain, forcing the ship to ration food. For a period, crew members subsisted largely on tuna mixed with noodles or corn dogs.

CNN also reported that after its journalists left the ship, one crew member jumped overboard wearing a life jacket and was rescued by helicopter. Military Times, citing family members of crew and active-duty sailors, reported a separate attempted jump that a fellow crew member intervened to stop.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking to reporters during a visit to Panama on Thursday, insisted that coverage of the Lincoln had been "completely mischaracterized."

"We are making sure every ship, every sailor, every captain has everything we can provide them at every moment," Hegseth said. "What they are doing in rough seas, in difficult conditions, without port calls, is remarkable."

dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com