The government needs more patrol boats of the calibre of P61, which is the biggest in the fleet and can go farthest on missions, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said in Parliament on Tuesday.

Independently of this statement, he told Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi that up to March 17 the two AFM sea vessels now permanently stationed at Mġarr, Gozo, had participated in four assistance missions, four missions of maritime law enforcement and “several” other AFM operations.

Minister Mallia said the operations had taken place not only around Gozo but also in coastal zones around Comino and the northwest of Malta.

The two vessels are the coastal surveillance P06 and the search-and-rescue Melita 2.

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