The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold spent four days without power in the South China Sea last month after an engineering fault affected its generator, the 7th Fleet said. The Arleigh Burke-class vessel was conducting routine operations in the Indo-Pacific on July 24 when the problem occurred. The roughly 10,000-ton warship lost its ability to move independently, while toilets, galley services, air conditioning and potable-water supplies were disrupted.

Sailors endured the outage in intense heat, with average daytime temperatures in the South China Sea in late July ranging from 89 to 98 degrees Fahrenheit, or 32 to 37 degrees Celsius. Spokesman Commander Matthew Comer said no sailors were injured and that the crew showed resilience, professionalism and composure. The cause of the power failure remains under investigation.

USS Robert Smalls supplied cooked food to Benfold, while other ships from the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group based in Japan also assisted during the four days. Benfold was later towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines for repairs, which were completed on August 8 before it returned to duty. It was the second power-loss incident involving a destroyer in the Pacific Command area, after USS Higgins lost power and propulsion for several hours in May.