US Navy destroyer adrift in South China Sea for four days after losing power

What it is about

Who published it, and when

How it spread - 17 original reports, 1 reprint

1. Mon, 17 August 2026

   4 reports
   • RMF24 (Poland)11:29first to report
     Poważne problemy amerykańskiego niszczyciela USS Benfold

     Poważne problemy amerykańskiego niszczyciela USS Benfold

   • Wirtualna Polska (Poland)13:52
     Awaria na amerykańskim niszczycielu. Kilka dni bez zasilania

     Amerykański niszczyciel rakietowy USS Benfold przez cztery dni operował na Morzu Południowochińskim bez zasilania, co unieruchomiło m.in. klimatyzację, toalety i kuchnię pokładową.

   • Index.hr (Croatia)14:38
     Američki razarač četiri dana bio bez struje u Južnom kineskom moru

     RIJEČ je o još jednom problemu u trenutku kada raste zabrinutost zbog velikog opterećenja američke ratne mornarice zbog rata s Iranom i globalnih vojnih obveza.

   • The Guardian World21:01
     US Navy destroyer adrift in South China Sea for four days after losing power

     USS Benfold lost power after ‘engineering casualty’ leaving sailors without galley services, toilets and air conditioning A US guided-missile destroyer reportedly spent four days adrift and without power in the South China Sea in July, furthering concerns about strain being placed on deployed military members. The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer which had been sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group, was reported to have been towed to Subic Bay in...

2. Tue, 18 August 2026

   10 reports
   • Anadolu Agency (AA)05:20
     US Navy destroyer loses power for 4 days in South China Sea

     USS Benfold towed to Philippines after engineering failure left crew without air conditioning, toilets and galley services

   • Index.hr (Croatia)10:05
     Moćni američki razarač ostao bez struje i vode na +37°C u Južnom kineskom moru

     AMERIČKI razarač USS Benfold ostao je bez pogona i struje četiri dana u Južnom kineskom moru zbog kvara. Incident, drugi takav ove godine, ukazuje na preopterećenost američke mornarice.

   • Dnevnik.hr (Croatia)14:44
     Nova sramota američke mornarice: Razarač ostao bez struje, toaleta, kuhinje i pitke vode
   • yahoo.com17:12
     Massive risk in South China Sea exposed after four-day power loss on US Navy destroyer

     USS Benfold lost power for four days in the South China Sea after a generator failure, forcing the Navy to tow the destroyer to Subic Bay.

   • RMF24 (Poland)19:43
     Awaria amerykańskiego niszczyciela na środku Morza Południowochińskiego

     Awaria amerykańskiego niszczyciela na środku Morza Południowochińskiego

   • iheart.com19:55
     Navy Ship Lost Power For Four Days, Had To Be Towed Out Of South China Sea

     The power outage affected critical systems including toilets, air conditioning, galley services, and drinking water.

   • iheart.com19:55
     Navy Ship Lost Power For Four Days, Had To Be Towed Out Of South China Sea

     The power outage affected critical systems including toilets, air conditioning, galley services, and drinking water.

   • redbluffdailynews.com20:52edited after publishing
     US Navy destroyer with 300 sailors aboard broke down for four days in the Pacific

     The breakdown meant the crew went without drinking water, meals, functioning toilets and air conditioning.

     1 reprint

     • kurv.com20 Aug, 07:21removed
   • The Hill21:24
     Navy destroyer went days without power in the South China Sea, leaving sailors without toilets

     A Navy destroyer went four days without power in the South China Sea last month, leaving sailors aboard without toilets, air conditioning, galley service and potable water, according to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet. The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, experienced loss of power following an “engineering casualty” on July 24 in the Indo-Pacific....

   • South China Morning Post21:40
     US Navy destroyer with 300 sailors aboard broke down for 4 days in the Pacific

     A US Navy destroyer with about 300 sailors aboard suffered a major breakdown in the Pacific Ocean last month that left it without power for four days, the Navy confirmed in a statement. The USS Benfold “reported an engineering casualty involving its generators, causing a loss of power” on July 24, Navy spokesman Commander Matthew Comer said in the statement. The breakdown meant the crew went without drinking water, meals, functioning toilets and air conditioning for days aboard the ship,...

3. Wed, 19 August 2026

   3 reports
   • ABC News (Australia)00:54
     US Navy destroyer with 300 sailors stranded in the Pacific for four days

     More than 300 sailors aboard a US Navy ship endured four days stranded in the Pacific, without power, amid serious questions about the quality of life aboard naval vessels.

   • Der Spiegel (Germany)06:52
     USS Benfold: US-Zerstörer war vier Tage ohne Strom im Pazifik

     Erst kürzlich sorgten Klagen über Missstände auf einem US-Flugträger für Aufsehen. Nun wurde ein weiterer Fall bekannt: Auf dem Zerstörer USS »Benfold« fiel tagelang der Strom aus – auch Küche und Toiletten waren betroffen.

   • South China Morning Post08:00
     Is South China Sea warship breakdown a sign US is ‘taxing reserve capacity’?

     A US guided-missile destroyer that was adrift in the South China Sea without power last month is a sign that America is taxing its reserve capacity as its operation against Iran drags on, according to an analyst. “This is an extremely unusual occurrence and a variety of equipment and process failures would have to have taken place,” said Brad Martin, a former US Navy captain who is now a senior policy researcher at Washington-based think tank the Rand Corporation. “Failures such as this are a...