YOKOSUKA, Japan (Nov. 18, 2017) The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) was participating in a scheduled towing exercise in Sagami Wan Nov. 18, when the tug boat lost propulsion and drifted into the ship.
No one was injured on either vessel and Benfold sustained minimal damage, including scrapes on its side, pending a full damage assessment. Benfold remains at sea under her own power. The Japanese commercial tug is being towed by another vessel to a port in Yokosuka. The incident will be investigated.
Benfold is forward deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia- Pacific.