An electrical fire aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Higgins caused the vessel to lose power and propulsion in the Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday, officials told the Washington Examiner.
The USS Higgins is the Navy’s main presence in Asia, and experienced an “engineering casualty to their electrical distribution system,” U.S. Navy Commander Matthew Comer said.
Recommended Stories
“On Apr. 28, 2026, while conducting routine operations in the Indo-Pacific, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) reported an engineering casualty to their electrical distribution system,” Comer said. “There were no injuries to the crew and power has been restored to the ship.”
Power and propulsion have since been restored, Comer said, adding that the incident is under investigation. He said initial reports found that the electrical mishap “may have produced sparking or smoke that ceased once power was removed.”
The destroyer’s last known location was at port in Singapore in February, according to marine vessel data. The vessel’s homeport is in Yokosuka, Japan, and is part of the Navy’s forward-deployed forces assigned to the 7th Fleet. The formation is a key component of the United States Indo-Pacific Command that oversees American military operations across more than half the globe.
HUNG CAO VOWS TO ACCELERATE SHIPBUILDING IN FIRST COMMENTS AS ACTING NAVY SECRETARY
The incident marks the second fire to occur in April aboard a Navy vessel, as the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower experienced a small fire that broke out on April 17, injuring three U.S. sailors. The ship was undergoing maintenance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, and the incident did not delay the ship’s routine maintenance, leaving it ready to deploy on time.
An additional fire injured two seamen aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford in March, when the laundry spaces caught fire while the ship was stationed in the Red Sea in support of U.S. military operations in Iran. It was deemed fully operational following the incident.
