Red Sea naval mission getting more ships, EU says

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc is expanding its Red Sea naval mission as more ships need escorts in the key shipping route.

Kallas told AFP during a visit to Lebanon on Thursday that the EU had urged member states to supply more vessels for Operation Aspides. She said member states were already providing more ships, with Belgium coming in and two other member states either providing or considering new ships.

“The list of ships that need escorting is increasing,” Kallas said.

She said the mission needs at least 10 ships, but does not currently have that number.

The EU launched Operation Aspides in 2024, when Yemen’s Houthis were targeting shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The EU said last month that the mission had raised its alert level after the Houthis again threatened the waterway.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis last month seized the country’s Red Sea coastline, including the Bab al-Mandab strait, as the war in Yemen reignited. The Red Sea links Asia with Europe through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, and has also become important for Saudi oil exports while Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz during the Middle East war.