EU’s crucial mission in Red Sea

Amid escalating tensions caused by military operations and conflicts in the Red Sea, the European Union (EU) has called for enhanced international cooperation to seek a long-term solution to the security challenges facing this vital global maritime route.

A cargo ship sails through the Suez Canal in Ismailia Province, Egypt, on January 13, 2024.

Although Europe has no actual coastline along the Red Sea, its commercial activities have been severely disrupted by attacks targeting this international shipping lane.

“Everyone is suffering – including Europe – from the Houthi attacks,” stated Annette Weber, the EU’s Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa. The Houthi group began attacking trade routes through the Red Sea in November 2023.

These attacks have caused significant disruption to global trade shipping, forcing oil tankers and container ships to divert around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, dramatically increasing costs, fuel consumption, and delivery times.

For Europe, which depends heavily on imports from the East, the situation has created a strong sense of urgency to establish a mechanism that enables commercial vessels to safely traverse the traditional shipping route.

In response, the EU launched Operation Aspides, named after the Greek word for “shield”, in February 2024 to counter Houthi attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea up to the Suez Canal. The operation provides robust protection for commercial ships, intercepts Houthi attacks, and monitors and assesses potential threats.

The EU naval mission Aspides was established to safeguard maritime traffic along the strategic trade route linking the Mediterranean with Asia via the Suez Canal. One of the mission’s tasks is to monitor and escort ships through the Red Sea.

Admiral Vasileios Gryparis, Commander of the EU’s Red Sea naval defence operation, emphasised that the EU is not waging war against the Houthis but rather addressing their actions targeting maritime transport, in order to defend global common interests such as freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers.

Aspides currently operates three vessels: Italy’s Federico Martinengo, the Greek Navy’s HS Hydra, and a French frigate, covering a vast area extending to the northwestern Indian Ocean.

The EU’s efforts are focused on a high-risk zone stretching 2,200km, where the Houthis have launched the majority of their attacks around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a 26km-wide sea corridor separating Yemen from the Horn of Africa. This is considered the most dangerous naval operation the EU has undertaken to date, making it a vital mission for Red Sea security.

Over the past year, the Aspides mission has facilitated the safe passage of more than 740 vessels, including 440 that have received direct protection. The mission has intercepted numerous drones, unmanned vessels, and anti-ship missiles. Thanks to the support of the EU naval mission Aspides, maritime traffic through the Red Sea has increased by 60%, reaching 36–37 ships per day since August 2024.

Highlighting the strategic importance of the Red Sea and the need for collective action to safeguard this crucial international waterway, Annette Weber suggested that stakeholders must jointly envision regional security architecture to promote trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG), and green hydrogen. This comes in the context of individual contributions by nations in the Gulf and Horn of Africa, which haven’t effectively neutralised maritime threats.

Given the threats emerging from both sides of the Red Sea, including the Houthi forces in Yemen, the Al Shabab group in Somalia, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), and instability in Sudan, EU officials believe that countries along both shores of the Red Sea, together with the EU, should work together to bolster security in the region.

NDO