European Union Launches Red Sea Naval Operation

The European Council has launched a new maritime security naval operation focussing on protecting freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, announced that Operation ASPIDES will establish a naval presence in the regions that have been targeted by Houthi attacks on international commercial vessels since October 2023. The operation aims to safeguard maritime security and preserve freedom of navigation for commercial vessels, and will also offer maritime situational awareness and protect vessels against potential “multi-domain” attacks at sea.

“With the launch of EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, the European Union is responding swiftly to the necessity to restore maritime security and freedom of navigation in a highly strategic maritime corridor,” said Borrell.

Commanded by Commodore Vasilios Griparis and Rear Admiral Stefano Costantino, the operation will be active in the Baab al-Mandab Strait, the Strait of Hormuz, and international waters in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf. The base for the operation will be located in Larissa, Greece.

Operation ASPIDES will closely coordinate with EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, the EU’s ongoing counter-piracy operation off the Horn of Africa and West Indian Ocean, to enhance maritime security in the West Indian Ocean and in the Red Sea. It will also collaborate with partners in its area of operation.

This initiative comes in response to numerous Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Oman since October 2023. These attacks not only endanger civilians aboard merchant and commercial vessels but also violate the freedom of the high seas and the right of transit passage in straits used for international navigation, as defined in the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea.

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2722 (2024) on January 10, 2024, condemning these attacks and emphasizing the importance of navigational rights. In its announcement, the Council called for an immediate stop of Houthis’ attacks and affirmed that navigational rights and freedoms for merchant and commercial vessels must be respected.

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