The German frigate “Hessen” will protect merchant ships in the Red Sea from attacks by the Yemeni Houthi militia in the future. A direct attack on the frigate cannot be ruled out, warns German Defense Minister Pistorius. Austria also wants to participate in the EU mission.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius sees the dangerous deployment of the frigate “Hessen” in the Red Sea as a sign that Germany is ready and able to assume international responsibility. “It can be said without exaggeration that it is the Navy's most serious and most dangerous operation in decades,” the SPD politician said on Tuesday during his visit to the ship in Crete.
It is about protecting international law, freedom, security at sea, but also about stabilizing trade routes and the entire region.
German Parliament still needs to approve
The German Bundestag will vote on the mandate on Friday. If Parliament approves as expected, the frigate, whose home port is Wilhelmshaven, will immediately enter the Red Sea from Egypt's Suez Canal. The mission is considered the most dangerous purely naval operation in the history of the Bundeswehr. Yemen's militant Islamic Houthi militia wants to force an end to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip by bombing ships in the Red Sea.
Pistorius said a direct Houthi attack on the German frigate could not be ruled out. “It’s part of operational preparedness to prepare for that.” At the same time, he emphasized that this was a defensive operation. “We’re just traveling with the frigate to repel attacks with drones, with missiles, with whatever on ships passing through here.” This is not about attacking Houthi positions on the continent like the Americans and British.
Houthi claim to have sunk ship – no evidence
There were several militia attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea over the weekend. For the first time a crew had to abandon a ship. The Belize-flagged “Rubymar” was damaged by two ballistic missiles on Sunday night (local time), US Central Command announced Monday on social media platform X. A coalition warship and another merchant ship responded to the distress call, and the Rubymar's crew was taken to a nearby port, he said.
The “Rubymar” is a relatively small cargo ship. According to the Equasis international shipping database, its owner is registered in Southampton, England. A Houthi spokesman said in a statement that an attack on an unidentified British vessel led to its “complete sinking” – a claim that could not be independently verified.
US Central Command did not mention in its statement whether the “Rubymar” had sunk, and there was no immediate comment from the ship's owner.
Safe route for world trade
Since December, warships from a US-led international coalition have been trying to secure the route along the Yemeni coast, which is important for global trade. On Monday in Brussels, EU foreign ministers formally decided to launch the EU military mission “Aspides” in the Red Sea to combat attacks on ships by Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels. According to Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP), Austria will also participate. Schallenberg was unable to provide details about Austria's participation on Monday, but “work is in full swing.” It is important that we “show our colors”. (APA/dpa/Portal)