WASHINGTON — A fire broke out Tuesday on the USS Higgins, a guided-missile destroyer that is the mainstay of the U.S. Navy’s forward deployment in Asia, according to U.S. officials.
An official told CBS News that the fire disabled the destroyer’s electrical and propulsion systems. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
It was confined to a piece of equipment and the flames did not spread.
As of Wednesday, there were no reports of injuries to U.S. service members.
It’s unclear what caused the fire or Higgins’ exact location at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM).
Details about which parts of the ship were damaged and how long repairs will take are also unclear.
According to AIS Marine ship data, the Higgins docked in Singapore in February.
A Defense Department official said in a statement: “An electrical fire broke out while the USS Higgins was sailing in the Indo-Pacific waters. The fire was immediately extinguished by the crew and no casualties were reported. The situation has been brought under control and the ship is currently sailing. The cause is under investigation.”
The U.S. Navy classified it as an “electrical incident,” meaning it was not a fire but a short circuit in the ship’s generator.
A small fire on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier earlier this month injured eight U.S. Navy sailors, the U.S. Naval Institute reported. Separately, a fire broke out in a laundry room on the USS Gerald R. Ford, injuring two sailors.
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday that the Ford and its accompanying strike team are expected to leave the Middle East in the coming days. The Ford is one of three airlines operating in the area.
The Higgins, homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, is part of the Navy’s forward-deployed force assigned to the Seventh Fleet, an important component of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in much of the world.
The ship is named after Marine Corps Col. William Higgins, a Vietnam War veteran who was kidnapped by Hezbollah militants in February 1988 while on a U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. Higgins was tortured, interrogated, and then murdered. He rose to his current rank while in captivity. In December 1991, Higgins’ body was found on a street in Beirut.
