On Wednesday 13th November, 2002 the 87-foot Protector Class boat, bought out of a $13 million grant made available to Malta under the US Securities Assistance Act of 2000 P 51 was handed over to the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) at the Maritime Squadron Base.
The grant had been given for the purchase of equipment to detect illegal materials trafficked in containers, and to assist the Armed Forces to enhance its search and rescue capabilities.
Based on the Damen Stan 2600 patrol vessel design the United States Coast Guard (USCG) has 73 patrol boats from this class, where they are known as the Marine Protector class. Built by Bollinger Shipyards to the USCG specifications under the US$13 Million grant from the United States provided by the United States Securities Act of 2000.
P 51 arrived as deck cargo aboard the MPP ship BBC CHINA on 19th July, 2004 at Grand Harbour.
On another note unfortunately BBC CHINA grounded for months later (16/10/2004) in severe weather near Port Grosvenor on the south Natal Coast in position 31.23S, 29.54E. Water flooded the engine room and the crew were taken off by helicopter. Salvors are in attendance but prospects of refloating her look poor. She was on passage from Port of Spain for Durban with steel and aluminium.
Coincidentally, the oldest vessels in the Maritime Squadron are two Swift class patrol boats which are also American built. They were the first boats to equip the then Maritime Troop of the Malta Land Force (MLF) . They were formally handed to the Malta government by the US ambassador in 1971. The vessels have since proved to be the workhorses of the squadron.
Since her commissioning is a great workhorse in the fleet.
NO PHOTOS can be used or manipulated without our permission….
Unless specified to the contrary, the contents of this website and pages are protected by copyright and no part of them may be reproduced in any form or used in any other way except with the Malta Ship & Action Photos prior written permission or in accordance with the next term set out below.
Whilst every care is taken with the information provided in this website, Malta Ship & Action Photos, accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions. Design, specifications and prices are subject to change without prior notice.
STRICTLY – All IMAGES and ANY INFORMATION – Are AGAINST PAYMENT
Our Terms & Conditions can be found here – https://maltashipphotos.com/terms-and-conditions/
