EU frigates have helped 68 merchant vessels get through the Houthis’ Red Sea blockade, but shipping is still down by half as attacks continue.
“So far, all commercial vessels have been safeguarded and all ships that requested [EU] protection have been escorted,” said Greek rear admiral Vasileios Gryparis, in overall charge of an EU naval operation in the region, in Brussels on Monday (8 April).
The EU mission, Aspides, had escorted 68 ships since it began work on 23 February, he said.
It shot down nine aerial drones, one marine drone, and four anti-ship missiles fired by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen in the same period, he added.
There was a “small reduction” in attacks since late February, but it was “too early to jump to a conclusion if we’ve achieved anything,” he said.
The Houthis “have the capability to always choose the time and place” of the next strike, the Greek admiral said.
“We have to sit and wait until we’re shot at,” he added, referring to Aspides’ defensive mandate, which means it can’t attack Houthi targets on land.
The EU mission has four frigates to cover what the admiral called a “vast” part of the Indian Ocean, which was twice the size of the EU-27’s landmass and which would take one ship some 10 days to cross end-to-end.
But it has focused on a “high-risk area,” near the Bab al-Mandab strait in the Red Sea, where most attacks take place.
The Houthis began firing on Western ships last October in the name of solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in its war with Israel.
They killed three people on a Greek-owned vessel in March and took 25 sailors hostage in November, including two Bulgarians and a Romanian.
They’re now saying ships have to check in with their ‘maritime control authority’ if they want safe passage.
And the violence and extortion have seen shipping traffic drastically decline.
“Today, only half of the 70 ships that were passing daily still use the Suez Canal,” said EU top diplomat Josep Borrell on Monday, speaking alongside the Greek naval commander.
A US-led anti-Houthi mission, as well as Iranian and Russian warships, have also massed in the Red Sea, amid fears the Gaza conflict could spill into a wider clash.
Iran backs the Houthis and Hamas and is allied with Russia.
But Borrell said on Monday the Houthis were operating at arms’ length from Iran and the Russian navy posed no threat.
“I don’t think Iran has full control in decision making — they [the Houthis] have become quite autonomous,” he said.
“Freedom of navigation is also freedom of navigation for Russia … we have protocols so that different navies can co-exist in the same geographical situation [without accidental clashes]”, he added.
Borrell described the region as being a “vital artery” for European trade with Asia.
“We can’t leave this part of the world without protection … [Aspides] is a complete example of the EU acting as a maritime security provider,” he said.
The way Aspides worked was that merchant ships seeking EU protection dialled in at a maritime HQ 72 hours before they wanted to get through.
The mission’s operations commander, Italian rear admiral Stefano Costantino, then decided which ones he could help.
“So far, everyone who’s asked [for] our protection has received it,” Gryparis said.
Some pro-Palestinian EU countries, such as Spain, stayed out of Aspides, which was seen in parts of the Arab world as taking Israel’s side.
But Borrell noted that Houthis have attacked international ships “indiscriminately”, whether they were linked to Israel, or not.
“This naval mission isn’t meant to be our response to the situation in Gaza … we have a strict objective — to protect the lives of sailors, protect the freedom of navigation, protect international trade,” he said.
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