The ''P21'' class is a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of inshore patrol vessels of the

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of Malta ( mt, Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval ...

's Maritime Squadron. They are alternatively known as the ''Austal'' class after their builder.

Development and design

The Maltese ordered four boats in 2009 from Australian shipyard

Austal Austal is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, high-speed passeng ...

. They were due to replace the ''Swift''-class patrol boats ''P23'' and ''P24'' which had been in commission since 1971 and the ''Bremse''-class patrol boat ''P32'' which had been in commission since 1992. The new vessels were built to Maltese specifications and were partly financed by the EU. The first two vessels were launched in October 2009. All four vessels were delivered to Malta in late 2009, and were officially commissioned on 18 March 2010. The vessels are armed with machine guns and they mount a firefighting

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...

on the aft fly bridge. They are mainly used for search and rescue purposes, border patrol and to rescue illegal immigrants.

Service history

P21

''P21'' takes part in various rescue operations, for example in July 2010 she took part in the search for a woman who had been reported missing. The woman was found hiding in a cave after she swam there she was surrounded by jellyfish. The patrol boat also regularly takes part in rescuing

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

, such as the rescue of 11 migrants in September 2012 along with the patrol boats ''P22'' and ''P32''. ''P21'' also responded to the attempted hijacking of a tanker by migrants on 28 March 2019. On 25 May 2019, ''P21'' assisted the P52 with the rescue of 216 migrants after distress calls where received from 2 rubber dinghies during the night. Both dinghies were inside Maltese territorial water. On 5 June 2019, ''P21'' made 2 rescue operations in what turned out to be a busy day for the navy. ''P21'' responded to a group of migrants that required rescuing. The vessel firstly disembarked 63 of the migrants and then went back to rescue a further 61 migrants that couldn’t fit on the vessel. In total the vessel rescued 124 migrants. On the day P52 and P61 were also involved in further rescue operations that resulted in the navy rescuing 370 migrants in total. On 25 July 2019 ''P21'' was again on hand to rescue a group of 76 migrants that were found in distress in the Maltese SAR zone. On 12 August 2019 ''P21'' evacuated 8 migrants from the NGO vessel ''Open Arms''. The vessel carried 160 migrants which remained in limbo until a safe port was provided. The group of 8 migrants were extracted due to their ailing health which were brought to Malta aboard the ''P21''.

P22

In September 2012 ''P22'' intercepted a boat full of

about 25 nautical miles south of Malta and rescued 11 of them. Another 30 people on board the boat refused assistance and continued their journey north. On 29 May 2019 ''P22'' rescued a group of 75 immigrants clinging to a tuna fish pen. They’ve been at sea for the previous 3 days before being saved by the armed forces of Malta. The immigrants entered port early the following morning.

P23

''P23'' takes part in various rescue operations. Her captain and crew were praised twice in August 2011, the first time for helping return a drifting cabin cruiser back to the port, and the second time for helping and escorting a family whose boat came in distress in rough seas. On 23 June 2019, ''P23'' rescued 24 migrants that were close to shore, near Birzebbuga. The migrants were found on a dinghy and the majority of 16 were all aged 3–16years old. On 26 July 2019, ''P23'' came to the aid of another group of migrants, this time numbering a total of 67 men. The rescue happened while the vessel was on a regular patrol. This extraction happened just a day after ''P21'' rescued another 76 migrants in similar conditions. On 4 August 2019, ''P23'' entered port carrying another group of 40 migrants that were transferred from the NGO ship ''Alan Kurdi''. The NGO vessel was due to enter the port of Lampedusa however the Italian authorities refused to provide a safe port. The Maltese government then allowed the 40 migrants to be brought to Malta, only after finalizing a deal with the EU which will take all the 40 migrants. None will remain in Malta. For the 1983 explosion that occurred on the older counterpart of the ''P23'', see the article on the C23 tragedy.

P24

In July 2012, the ''Austal''-class ''P24'' towed its predecessor, the decommissioned ''Swift''-class ''P24'' (formerly known as ''C24''), from the AFM base at Haywharf in Floriana to the

Malta Freeport Malta Freeport ( Maltese: ''Il-Port Ħieles'') is an international port on the island of Malta with a trade volume of 3.06 million TEUs in 2015.

in a handover ceremony. From here the decommissioned Swift boat was taken to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

where it was restored and placed in the

Maritime Museum of San Diego The Maritime Museum of San Diego, established in 1948, preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. Located on the San Diego Bay, the centerpiece of the museum's collection is the '' Star of India'', an 1 ...

. In November 2012 ''P24'' collided with a small boat in

Marsamxett Harbour Marsamxett Harbour (), historically also referred to as Marsamuscetto, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It is located to the north of the larger Grand Harbour. The harbour is generally more dedicated to leisure use than the Grand H ...

. The small boat sank but the man on board jumped and was picked up unhurt by the crew of the patrol boat. The boat was then lifted with slight damage and an inquiry was held. On 27 June 2019 ''P24'' rescued a group of 66 migrants and brought them safely to Hay Wharf naval base, were they handed over to the police. Favourable weather is a big factor in the huge number of migrants arriving in Malta. On 9 July 2019, ''P24'' rescued a group of 44 migrants that were found in distress during the night in the Maltese SAR zone. Amongst the saved there were 4 women and 3 children. The migrants were firstly saved by the ''Alan Kurdi'' and then transferred to the patrol boat. On 26 August 2019, ''P24'' ferried into harbour a group of 73 migrants that were found in Malta's SAR zone aboard a small dinghy. Later on that day the AFM rescued another group of 89 migrants in a similar situation. That brings the total rescued for the day to 162 migrants.

References

{{reflist 2009 ships *P21 class Patrol boat classes Ships built by Austal