USS Typhoon ( PC - 5 ) USS " Typhoon " ( PC - 5 ) is the fifth United States Navy " Cyclone " class patrol ( coastal ) ship . " Typhoon " was laid down 15 May 1992 at Bollinger Shipyards , in Lockport , Louisiana and launched 3 March 1993 . She was commissioned 12 February 1994 in Tampa , Florida . As of 2008 , " Typhoon " operates in the Persian Gulf , stationed in Manama , Bahrain since 2004 and is manned by one of 13 rotating 30 - person US Navy crews and a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment ( LEDET ) that performs ship boardings . History . " Typhoon " participated in BALTOPS 95 . In August 2001 , " Typhoon " visited Koper , Slovenia to participate in joint training with the Slovene patrol ship " Ankaran " . " Typhoon " returned to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek 9 May 2003 following a deployment in support of the global war on terrorism . " Typhoon " lost a crewmember when Engineman 2nd Class Douglas Bolles was lost at sea after falling overboard from a rigid hull inflatable boat ( RHIB ) off Cape Henry on 7 November 2003 and subsequently found to have removed his life vest . Bolles body was recovered 22 November 2003 . Service in the Middle East . At the end of April 2004 , " Typhoon " and departed Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek for the Persian Gulf to relieve and . The ships were to be deployed for 18 months while crews would be swapped every six months . The ships were escorted by during the trans - Atlantic portion of the trip . In June 2004 , " Typhoon " and " Sirocco " arrived in the Persian Gulf to assist in maritime security operations and enforce a 2 , 000 meter exclusion zone around the Al Basrah ( ABOT ) and Khawr Al Amaya ( KAAOT ) oil terminals . In December 2004 , " Typhoon " responded to a distress call from a dhow and rescued an unconscious fisherman knocked overboard by a winch handle while hauling in fishing nets . The fisherman was transferred to . In May 2005 , " Typhoon " participated in the rescue of 89 people from a small dhow which capsized in the Gulf of Aden , 25 miles off the coast of Somalia . In April 2006 , " Typhoon " performed maritime security operations with HNLMS " Amsterdam " and off the Horn of Africa and in the Arabian Sea . " Typhoon " used her smaller size and faster speed to intercept dhow s and other merchant vessels to gather intelligence on maritime activity and prevent piracy and terrorism in the area . On 7 September 2007 , sailors from " Typhoon " rescued seven mariners adrift on a raft in the Persian Gulf . At the time , " Typhoon " was based in Bahrain providing security for Iraqi oil platforms in the northern Persian Gulf and participating in Maritime Security Operations . Encounter with Iranian craft . On Friday , 11 April 2008 , " Typhoon " was approached to within 200 yards by a small Iranian craft , outside Iranian territorial waters while transiting from the central to the northern Persian Gulf . According to reports , there were three speed boats of unidentified origin and " Typhoon " fired a flare as a warning after receiving no response from the boats on bridge - to - bridge maritime radio . " Typhoon " then continued on its course without further incident . This was the second such incident that occurred between US Navy ships and Iranian craft that year .