US Navy destroyer stranded for four days in South China Sea without bathrooms or AC - report
Former Navy captain Charles Schuster gave his viewpoint on the incident, himself having been in the same situation for four hours in an incident near Puerto Rico.
In July, a US Navy destroyer, the USS Benfold, remained adrift in the South China Sea for four days following an engineering malfunction, according to CNN. Commander Matthew Comer, a 7th Fleet spokesperson, revealed that the ship lacked functioning bathrooms, galley services, air conditioning, and potable water during the ordeal. The destroyer, which typically accompanies the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, had left Vietnam for the Middle East.
The engineering failure affected the ship's basic amenities, but there were no reported injuries among the crew. Meals were provided by another vessel, as reported by the Navy. Former Navy captain Charles Schuster, who experienced a similar incident near Puerto Rico, described the situation as "quite stressful." Operations officers were concerned about crew morale and operational issues, engineers focused on resolving the problem, and navigators worried about their course and weather forecasts.
Schuster emphasized that the four-day duration in the South China Sea was far more stressful than the four-hour incident he experienced. The USS George Washington, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, is en route to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been stationed in the region for months. This decision has raised security concerns among some analysts, as it will leave the western Pacific without a US carrier presence.
Several US lawmakers expressed their worry about the Lincoln's crew's well-being in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The lawmakers requested an account of the ship's conditions, as they are accountable to the service members.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
