The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG-65) was hit by a Japanese tug during a towing exercise on Saturday, according to a statement from U.S. 7th Fleet.
The forward-deployed destroyer was in the midst of a towing exercise in the Sagami Bay when the tug lost power 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,” read the statement from 7th Fleet.
“The Japanese commercial tug is being towed by another vessel to a port in Yokosuka. The incident will be investigated.”
The incident comes as the Navy is struggling with the aftermath of two fatal collisions between merchant ships and the destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) that claimed the lives of 17 sailors. The Navy found both incidents were preventable.
The Navy is instituting changes found in a fleet-wide comprehensive review of the surface navy that was released in early November. A strategic review of U.S. surface forces, led by the Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer, is due out early next month.
The following is the complete statement from U.S, 7th Fleet.
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.