The European Union officially launched its mission to protect maritime traffic in the Red Sea on Monday February 19, disrupted by attacks by Houthi rebels, announced the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
Several countries have expressed their intention to participate in this mission called
“Aspides”
(
“shield”
in ancient Greek), including Belgium, Italy, Germany and France.
Spain has indicated that it will not participate.
“Europe will ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, in coordination with our international partners
,” welcomed Ursula von der Leyen, on X (ex-Twitter).
This mission was officially launched by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
“We have just approved the launch of the naval military operation Aspides of which Italy will have command of the forces
,” confirmed Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on X.
The mission is planned for one year, possibly renewable.
This does not mean that it will be immediately operational: it will be up to its command to determine when it will have sufficient resources to be fully operational, which should take
“a few weeks”
, according to a European diplomat.
The German frigate
“Hessen”
left on February 8 for the Red Sea, with a crew of around 240 people.
It will be on permanent alert and will be able to respond to possible attacks with remotely controlled missiles, drones and
“kamikaze boats”
.
Greek General Command
Belgium has announced its intention to send its frigate
“Marie-Louise”
.
France has said it is ready to make one of its frigates already present in the Red Sea available to the Aspides mission.
The Twenty-Seven agreed in January on the principle of a maritime surveillance and patrol mission in the Red Sea, provided however that its mandate is purely defensive.
Greece will assume general command of this mission and Italy will assume operational command at sea, a European diplomatic source explained on Friday.
It will be able to fire to defend merchant ships or defend itself, but will not be able to target objectives on land against Houthi rebel positions in Yemen, according to diplomats.
A US cargo ship reported suffering a
“missile attack”
off the coast of Yemen and requested military assistance, maritime security company Ambrey said on Monday.
"A Greek-flagged US bulk carrier requested military assistance citing a 'missile attack,'"
Ambrey reported, adding that radio communications indicated that
"the crew was unhurt
. "
The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a bloody war against Palestinian Hamas in retaliation for the unprecedented October 7 attack on the ground. Israeli.
These attacks triggered retaliatory strikes by US and British forces in Yemen, the latest of which took place on Saturday.