German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Saturday that Germany will send a new frigate to the Red Sea at the beginning of August to assist in securing maritime navigation disrupted by the Houthis, following the completion of its ship’s mission there.
Pistorius stated that the frigate “Hamburg” will take over the tasks of the ship “Hessen,” which left the intervention area on Saturday as planned at the end of its mission, which began on February 23.
The ship was dispatched to the region as part of the European Union’s mission “Aspides” (“Shield” in Ancient Greek) to protect commercial shipping, with around 240 military personnel on board.
The statement clarified that the tasks of the ship “Hessen” accompanied “27 merchant ships in the intervention area” and repelled drones and missiles from the Houthis four times.
Since the start of the war in October 2023 between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have carried out dozens of attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden against commercial vessels they claimed were “linked to Israel,” disrupting global maritime trade in this strategic region.
The Houthis recently claimed responsibility for attacking nearly a hundred ships since the start of their operations.
These attacks have led to increased insurance costs for ships crossing the Red Sea, prompting many shipping companies to prefer the much longer route around the southern tip of the African continent.
Washington formed a multinational alliance in December to “protect” maritime navigation without success in halting the attacks.
