(B2) Faced with the now daily attacks by the Houthis on merchant ships in the Bab el Manded Strait, between Yemen and Djibouti, and in the south of the Red Sea, the Europeans and Allies are strengthening their resources in the area
Languedoc frigate (Photo: EMA Com / French Navy)
Americans who have the 'lead' in the area have asked their allies to strengthen their resources and their patrols in the area. On the European side, more than ever, the alert is being raised. The idea of European coordination was launched, notably by French President Emmanuel Macron during the European Council on December 15 (read: [News] Faced with the Houthi threat, European maritime coordination in the Red Sea?).
A French frigate as reinforcement
The FREMM Languedoc frigate joins the European operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta. This will allow the operation “ increase presence in the Red Sea and information sharing capacity with our maritime security partners, including the Combined Maritime Forces (CTF) » confirmed to B2 a person responsible for the operation. Support appreciated at a time of increased acts of piracy by Somalis (read: [News] New pirate alert in the Gulf of Aden. A captured Malto-Bulgarian ship?) like shots and warnings from the Yemeni Houthis (see below).
In associated support
The frigate will be in “ associated support ". That is to say operating within the framework of EUNAVFOR's mandate, under its authority. But not automatically permanently. Other actions “ could thus be carried out within the framework of decisions and under a national chain of command.
Even if French support for the European operation is not exceptional, it is no longer as regular as in 2010 during the critical times of the anti-piracy fight (1).
A British destroyer in the area
The British government has decided to deploy the destroyer HMS Diamond (D34) to the area. Leaving Plymouth at the end of November, he came to join (and relay) the HMS Lancaster, deployed in the region last year to secure the gulf, and three mine hunters (the HMS Bangor, HMS Chiddingfold le HMS Middleton and the Royal Fleet auxiliary support ship RFA Cardigan Bay). Ships deployed as part of Permanent Operation Kipion and under the command of the UK Maritime Component (UKMCC) in Bahrain.
Goal : " strengthen Royal Navy patrols » in the region and “keep critical trade routes open » as Minister Grant Shapps explained in a press release. “ It is essential that the UK strengthens its presence in the region, to protect Britain and our interests from a more unstable and contested world »
The Germans are feeling their way
The United States asked the German Navy if it would be able to provide support in the Red Sea. But the response in Berlin remains very vague for the moment, as noted by our colleague Thomas Wiegold of Augergeradeaus. Questioned by the press on Friday evening (December 15), on the sidelines of a visit to Wunstorf air base, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was elliptical: “ We are currently studying the request and the available options. But we are not yet at the end », he replied to theDPA press agency.
The attacks continue
Drone or missile attacks, or warnings to ships circulating in the area to divert from their route to go to a Yemeni port, are now daily occurrences.
This Monday (December 18), a Norwegian tanker — apparently the MT Swan Atlantic who was heading from France to Reunion according to its owner— was the subject of an aggressive approach by three small boats with armed personnel on board 63 nautical miles northwest of Djibouti. Attack foiled by an Allied (American) maritime coalition ship, which was nearby. Another ship — apparently le MSC Clara, a container ship flying the Panamanian flag — is the target of an attack 24 nautical miles northwest of the Yemeni port of Mokha, reporting a strong explosion having occurred on the port side. No damage to the boat or the men. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on these two ships.
On Friday (December 15), the German container ship Al-Jasrah of the Hapag-Lloyd company is hit by a missile. A fire breaks out on board. A warning shot in Germany to the point that shipowners and certain political leaders are asking Germany to engage in the area with ships. The same day, the British destroyer HMS Diamond shot down a suspected attack drone targeting a ship in the Red Sea, destroying the target with a Sea Viper (aka Aster) missile, British defense confirms.
The day before, Thursday (December 14), the Danish container ship MV Maersk Gibraltar (of the company AP Moller-Maersk), which is sailing under the Hong Kong flag, leaving from Jebel Ali (United Arab Emirates) towards Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), is targeted by a missile in the Red Sea. The same day, the container ship MSC Palatium 3, sailing under the Liberian flag, was also hit by a missile, near the Yemeni port of Mokha. While another ship of the company, the MSC Alanya which also had Jeddah as its destination, was ordered by the Houthis to change course.
On Wednesday (December 13), it was a chemical tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, the MV Ardmore Encounter (from the Ardmore shipping company), which had suffered a combined human and missile attack. Yemeni forces have “ first attempted to approach the tanker via skiffs. This attempt was unsuccessful, and two missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at the ship. They both missed their target » says the US navy who intervened. Finally, while he responds to the distress call ", L'USS Mason (DDG 87) has “ shot down drone also launched from Houthi-controlled areas » who was heading towards the ship.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
Coming from the Strait of Hormuz, where it was engaged in securing this vital strait for the passage of oil, with possible threats from Iran, the French frigate of the FREMM type, which would normally go back towards the Europe finally redirected its route, with a stopover in Djibouti.
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).
