João Gomes Cravinho was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the station and the Maritime Station, in the fishing port of Quarteira, municipality of Loulé, where he was accompanied by the director general of the National Maritime Authority (AMN).

"We are responding to the needs of a population that goes to the beaches and uses the waters also for their living - the fishermen - and the sportsmen who need the support of this structure," the head of the Defence told reporters.

The minister revealed that, since May, the life-saving station has already intervened in "51 occurrences," which represent "saved lives," and "just for this reason" the investment made by Loulé City Council and Docapesca has already been worth it, in a collaboration with AMN in "fulfilling this ambition, which corresponds to serving the population in the best way.

The director-general of the National Maritime Authority pointed out that the crew members of the life-saving station "will now have installations in the port of Quarteira", which allows for "half an hour's readiness" and a "faster response" than having to "move a speedboat from the port of Ferragudo", in the municipality of Lagoa, almost 40 kilometres away.

Quarteira will have four crew members for the time being, with a gradual plan to equip all the stations with "six members".

The Algarve will now be served by six life saving stations (Sagres, Ferragudo, Quarteira, Olhão, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António) with a total of "26 crew members".