Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta

Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta
Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta;
Skwadra Marittima tal-Forzi Armati ta' Malta
	Coat of arms of the Maritime Squadron
Active	1970 – present
Country	Malta
Branch	Armed Forces of Malta
Type	Navy
Role	Maritime surveillance, maritime law enforcement and search and rescue
Size	10 vessels; 6 boats
Garrison/HQ	Hay Wharf, Floriana
Website	Official website
Commanders
Lieutenant Colonel	Etienne Scicluna
Insignia
Naval ensign
Naval jack

Protector-class patrol boats on an anti-piracy training mission in 2011.

The Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta (Maltese: Skwadra Marittima tal-Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the naval component of the Maltese military. The Maritime Squadron has responsibility for the security of Maltese territorial waters, maritime surveillance and law enforcement, as well as search and rescue. It is based at Hay Wharf in Floriana.

The Maritime Squadron was established in November 1970 as the Maritime Troop of the Malta Land Force. Its name changed a number of times:

Maritime Troop of the Malta Land Force (1970–1971)
1st (Maritime) Battery of the Malta Land Force (1971–1973)
1st (Maritime) Battery of the Armed Forces of Malta (1973–1980)
Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta (1980–present)

History[]

Malta's first navy was built when it was under the Order of Saint John. It was a powerful navy with ships such as the Santa Anna. The Order participated in various naval exploits against the Ottoman Empire while based in Malta, most notably the Battle of Lepanto of 1571 and the Battle of the Dardanelles of 1656. In the 17th and early 18th centuries Maltese vessels also went for corsairing expeditions against Muslim ships. Eventually corsairing decreased and the Order was weak and bankrupt, so there was little resistance when Napoleon landed on Malta in 1798. The Order's navy, including the ships of the line San Zaccharia and San Giovanni, was integrated into the French navy and Malta no longer had its own naval force.

Soon after the British occupied the island, the Mediterranean Fleet of the Royal Navy transferred its base to Malta. Malta became a hub of naval activity due to its harbours and strategic position, and it remained so during the Second World War and until the 1960s. The Mediterranean Fleet was disbanded in 1967, and three years later Malta's first naval force appeared after over 150 years. The Maritime Troop of the Malta Land Force was established in November 1970 and two Swift boats were transferred to Malta from the United States Coast Guard in January 1971. In July 1971 the force was renamed 1st (Maritime) Battery of the Malta Land Force and was based in Senglea. In the 1970s, the number of patrol boats increased as West Germany and Libya gave Malta some of their former customs launches. In 1973 a vessel built at the Malta Drydocks for the Customs Department was taken over by the Maritime Battery.

In 1977, the Battery moved to its present base at Hay Wharf, or Xatt it-Tiben. In 1978, the British gave Malta two search and rescue launches, and in 1979 they left Malta completely, handing over all their former responsibilities to the Battery. On 1 April 1980 it was renamed Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta, as it is today. In the 1980s and 1990s, Yugoslavia, the United States, Italy gave more vessels to Malta. Malta purchased patrol boats for the first time in 1992, when former East German minesweepers and patrol boats were bought from Germany. The Swift, Kondor and Bremse classes from the 1960s and 1970s were all decommissioned between 2004 and 2012 as new vessels replaced them.

The worst peacetime incident of the Maritime Squadron was the C23 tragedy on 7 September 1984. Illegal fireworks which were to be dumped from a patrol boat exploded, killing five soldiers and two policemen.^[1]

On 18 February 2015 it was announced that the Emer class offshore patrol vessel LÉ Aoife (P22) would be transferred from the Irish Naval Service as a short term measure pending Malta's purchase of a new OPV.^[2]^[3] It was commissioned into the AFM on 28 June 2015 as P62.^[4]

A new base for the Maritime Squadron is currently being built, also at Hay Wharf.^[5]

Current structure[]

The AFM base at Hay Wharf.

Headquarters Command[]

The Headquarters Command is responsible for base security, transportation and anything necessary for sustaining the patrol boats throughout the year. It is therefore responsible for the supply of all the fuel and ammunition.

Offshore Command[]

The Offshore Command operates the Protector-class P51 and P52 and the modified Diciotti class vessel P61, the flagship of the Maltese navy. The Offshore command formerly operated the Kondor I-class P29, P30 and P31 vessels until these were decommissioned in 2004.

Inshore Command[]

The Inshore Command operates the four P21-class patrol boats, as well as the Search and Rescue launches Melita I and Melita II. The Command also includes the Rapid Deployment Platoon who operate using any of the Inshore Command vessels, the fast interceptors such as P01 or using aircraft from the Air Wing.

G Command[]

Patrol boat P32 at Mġarr, Gozo.

G Command is responsible for military activity on the island of Gozo. The Land Component consists of a platoon strong element which provide assistance to the Malta Police and various Government departments, as well as securing the territorial integrity of Gozo. The Maritime Component consisted of three crews operating the Bremse-class patrol boat P32 around Mġarr Harbour. P32 was decommissioned in 2012 and now the G Command operates a single Melita Class SAR Launch and a Defender Class CPB.

Support Command[]

Support Command is responsible for the upkeep of the maritime craft and equipment. It also incorporates equipment and supply management.

Active vessels of the AFM[]

These vessels are in active service as of 2015:

Class	Type	Ships	Origin	Commissioned	Note
Search and rescue launches (2 in service)
Supervittoria 800 class^[6]	Search and rescue launches	Melita I Melita II	Italy	1999	Built in 1998 by Vittoria Naval Shipyard, Adria/Rovigo, Italy
Boats (6 in service)
FB Interceptor class^[7]	Rigid-hulled inflatable boat	P01	Italy	2006	Built at FB Design in Annone Brianza (Lecco) - Italy. It is used by the Rapid Deployment Team (RDT), the unit tasked to perform M.L.E. (Maritime Law Enforcement) operations and counter terrorism interventions at sea.
Boomeranger (Model 1100) class^[8]	Rigid-hulled inflatable boat	P02 P03 P04	Finland	2012	Purchased from EBF Funding. Manufactured by
Defender class^[9]	Boat	P05 P06	United States	2014	Built by SAFE Boats International and donated by the US Government
Patrol vessels (8 in service)
Austal class^[10]	Inshore patrol vessel	P21 P22 P23 P24	Australia	2010	Ordered in February 2009 and built by Austal, Perth. Two of them were launched on 6 October 2009 and they were delivered in February 2010.^[11]^[12]
Protector class^[13]	Offshore patrol vessel	P51 P52	United States	2002 2004	Built at Bollinger Shipyards
Diciotti class (modified)^[14]	Offshore patrol vessel	P61	Italy	2005	Built by Fincantieri S.p.A. Italy at Muggiano Shipyard, the P61 serves as the flagship of the Maritime Squadron. The vessel will be undergoing an overhaul and engine refit which will cost around €7 million as of 2015.^[15]
Emer class	Offshore patrol vessel	P62	Ireland	2015	Built in 1979 as LÉ Aoife by Verolme Cork Dockyard Largest ship in the Maritime Squadron

The European commission voted €110 million in funds for the AFM. The government used these funds to purchase the four P21 class patrol vessels and has bought 2 new Beechcraft Super King Air offshore maritime surveillance aircraft for the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta.

Future[]

In 2015 the Maltese Government was looking to further expand the Maritime Squadron as the Diciotti-class P61 was struggling to keep up with the demands faced by patrolling Malta's large SAR Region and its territorial waters, as well as being in need of a major overhaul. Considering the gap that would be left for such as overhaul to take place, the Irish Naval Service donated the LÉ Aoife to help reduce the strains on the P61. Thus the government announced that it would procure a purpose built vessel that would cost in the region of €40 million partly financed by the European Union's Internal Border Funding. The new offshore patrol vessel will roughly have the same capabilities held by the current P61, as well as being larger, having longer endurance and also including a flight deck.^[16] The procurement of the new offshore patrol vessel was confirmed on 19 January 2019, when a ceremony was hold to announce the award of the contract to construct the new vessel to Cantiere Navale Vittoria.^[17] The new offshore patrol vessel, which will be the new flagship, will have pennant number P71 and will cost €35 million, €26 million of which will be contributed by the European Union.^[18]

Decommissioned vessels[]

A list of vessels since retired by the AFM.^[19]^[20]^[21]

Class	Ships	Origin	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Note
Patrol vessels (22 decommissioned)
	C21	Malta	1971 or 1973		Built at the for the Customs Department
Swift class	P23 (ex-C23) P24 (ex-C24)	United States	1971	2010	Built in 1967 as USA C6823 (PCF-813) and USA C6824 (PCF-816). Transferred from the United States Coast Guard in 1971. In 2012 P24 was handed back to the USA and it is now in the Maritime Museum of San Diego.^[12]^[22] P23 is laid up at Hay Wharf as of 2014.
	C25 C26	Yugoslavia	1975-1976	c.1990	Ex- launches built in Yugoslavia with the names: unknown (C25) Tariq (C26)
Equity class	P25 (ex-C25) P26 (ex-C26)	United States	1991	c.2000	Ex-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1255 and 1257
	C27 C28 C29	Germany	1972	c.1980s	Built between 1952-1956 as Customs Launches with the following names: Brunsbuttel (C27) Geier (C28) Kondor (C29) C28 is now a ferry boat named Seahawk by Captain Morgan Cruises.
Farwa class	C28 C29	United Kingdom	1978	1992 1989	Ex-Libyan Customs launches built in the UK in 1967-68 with the names: Arrakib (C28) Akrama (C29)
Kondor I class	P29 P30 P31	East Germany	1997 1992 1992	2004	Built at 1968-1970 as minesweepers with the following names: Boltenhagen (P29) Ueckermuende (P30) Pasewalk (P31) P29 and P31 were sunk as diving sites in 2007 and 2009. As of 2013, ex-P30 was laid up at Marsa.
Bremse class	P32 P33	East Germany	1992	2012 2005	Built at in 1971-1972 P33 was decommissioned in 2005^[23] and was scuttled as an artificial reef in 2021.^[24] P32 was decommissioned in 2012, but it is still moored at Hay Wharf along with the other commissioned patrol boats as of 2015.
Litoraneo class	P34 P36 P37	Italy	1992		Built by Baglietto in the 1950s for the Italian Guardia di Finanza with the following names: GL 314 (P34) GL 326 (P36) GL 316 (P37)
Kalnik class	P38 (ex-C38) P39 (ex-C38)	Yugoslavia	1982		Donated by Yugoslavia
Search and rescue launches (4 decommissioned)
RAF 1600 series	C20	United Kingdom	1980s		Ex-RAF Search and Rescue Force 1654. As of 2011, the decommissioned boat lay derelict in a field at Marsaxlokk.
RAF 1300 series	C21	United Kingdom	1980s		Ex-RAF Search and Rescue Force
RAF 2700 series	C68 C71	United Kingdom	1978		Ex-RAF Search and Rescue Force 2768 and 2771
Landing craft (1 decommissioned)
Higgins boat	LC1	United States