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The ''Protector'' class is a class of coastal patrol boats of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta. They are 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. ==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: *25 August 2009: ''P51'' intercepted a boat with 60 distressed Eritrean immigrants〔 〕 *15 September 2009: ''P51'' intercepted a dinghy with 68 immigrants *20 August 2012: ''P51'' and a King Air aircraft intercepted a boat with 56 men and 24 women 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Protector-class coastal patrol boat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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