Name Protector class Built 2002-2004 | Preceded by Kondor I-class In service 2002-present | |
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Builders Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana Operators Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta | ||
The Protector class is a class of coastal patrol boats of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta. They are 87 feet (27 m) patrol boats based on the Stan 2600 patrol vessel design from the Netherlands shipbuilding firm Damen Group. The Hong Kong Police were the first organization to order vessels based on this design. The United States Coast Guard has 73 patrol boats of this class, where they are known as the Marine Protector class. Malta ordered two vessels, and they were built by Bollinger Shipyards to the USCG specifications. They were given pennant numbers P51 and P52. In 2013, both patrol boats were upgraded with new equipment including infrared cameras and a rigid hub inflatable boat. The new equipment cost €1.7 million and was co-funded by the European Union’s External Fund.
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P51
P51 was commissioned on 18 November 2002, and it was the AFM's first vessel to be ordered brand new, as all previous ones were bought or donated after being retired from foreign naval service. P51 took part in the search and rescue operations after the Simshar tragedy in July 2008, and it recovered the dead body of Carmelo Bugeja and took the sole survivor Simon Bugeja from the fishing boat Grecale to Xatt it-Tiben in Floriana. Since its commissioning, the patrol boat has rescued the lives of over 2000 illegal immigrants and covered over 50000 nautical miles. Some examples include:
P52
P52 was commissioned two years later on 7 July 2004. It also took part in the search and rescue efforts after the 2008 Simshar tragedy and recovered the decomposing body of the Somali fisherman who was on the sunken boat. Like P51 it also rescued hundreds of illegal immigrants over the years, such as: