[2] 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.

[3] Since its commissioning, the patrol boat has rescued the lives of over 2,000 illegal immigrants and covered over 50,000 nautical miles.

[4] Some examples include: On 12 November 2012, the tenth anniversary of her commissioning, the Times of Malta published an article to reflect on the P51's first ten years.

[25] It also took part in the search and rescue efforts after the 2008 Simshar tragedy and recovered the decomposing body of the Somali fisherman who was on the sunken boat.