Navy Patrol Ship USS Typhoon Decommissioned

Sailors disembark patrol coastal ship USS Typhoon (PC 5) during the ship’s decommissioning ceremony at Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Typhoon commissioned in 1994 and began conducting routine coastal patrol operations under U.S. 5th Fleet in 2004. *U.S. NAVY / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dawson Roth*

ARLINGTON, Va. — A second Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship has been retired from the fleet in the Persian Gulf. USS Typhoon (PC 5) was decommissioned in Manama, Bahrain, on Feb. 28 after 28 years of service, a few days after its sister ship, USS Firebolt (PC 10), was decommissioned on Feb. 23.

The event drops to eight the number of Cyclone-class PCs forward deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet. Three PCs based in the United States were decommissioned last year, leaving the rest of the class in the Persian Gulf.

The 174-foot-long, 375-ton Typhoon was built by Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana, and commissioned in Tampa, Florida, Feb. 12, 1994.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Typhoon deployed to the Mediterranean and Baltic seas. It was forward to the 5th Fleet in 2004. In the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, the Typhoon conducted maritime security patrols, including anti-piracy and anti-smuggling operations, security patrols for offshore oil rigs and terminals, and shipping escort.

The Typhoon and its sister ships will be replaced in the Persian Gulf by forward-deployed littoral combat ships beginning in 2022.