The purpose of "Fiske"s presence was to protect US shipping interests in the area, assigned to monitor all ship traffic into and out of the Persian Gulf. In some cases boarding these ships as necessary. On occasion the ship was called upon to perform rescue missions when ships ran into trouble, as in one case when a freighter ran aground. "Fiske" remained in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Strait of Hormuz areas until August. Liberty Ports of Call were unusual for US warships. They included Djibouti, French Somaliland; Massawa, Ethiopia; Bahrain; Karg Island, Madagascar; Diego-Suarez, and Mombasa, Kenya. "Fiske" treated Massawa as her "homeport" away from home.