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Strait of Hormuz. A Dane takes command of Agenor

(B2) Danish Commodore Carsten Fjord Larsen has taken over from French Rear Admiral Christophe Cluzel as head of the European Monitoring Mission in the Strait of Hormuz, aka EMASOH or Agenor

(Credit: EMA/DICOD)

The Danish admiral has taken over the military leadership of the European mission EMASOH for six months (European Maritime Awareness in The Strait of Hormuz). With an operational means: the French anti-aircraft frigate Jean Bart.

No major incidents

« No major incident has occurred in the joint operations area since last August. And I like to think that the de-escalating and reassuring patrols of EMASOH air and surface assets are part of this success says Rear Admiral Christophe Cluzel taking stock of his six months in command. But you have to stay very vigilant. Because the situation remains unstable and the weeks or months to come are quite sensitive ».

An essential task to maintain security

« It is essential that we can continue to maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz, which is also used daily by Danish ships underlined the Danish Defense Minister, Trine Bramsen, welcoming back from the Gulf, the frigate Iver Eightfeldt, after four months of deployment. Deployed since August, the frigate will have traveled nearly 25.000 nautical miles and 16 passages through the Strait of Hormuz. Besides the frigate and its crew, the Danish detachment included elements of military police, maritime special forces and an air force Seahawk helicopter.

Eight States at HQ

NB: The EMASOH or Agenor operation was set up on French initiative in order to ensure the safety of the various shipping lanes in the region (Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman). The headquarters is located at the French naval base in Abu Dhabi. Eight countries are present (Belgium, Denmark France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal).

(NGV)

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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