PARIS – Days after an oil products tanker came under Houthi missile attack in the Gulf of Aden, the Danish air defense frigate Iver Hoytfeld sailed into the Suez Canal on Monday to join a coalition protecting ships in the Red Sea.
Denmark’s Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that it will join the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, scheduled for February 6, if parliament gives final approval. France transferred a second frigate to the Red Sea region eight days ago, while Belgium is sending its frigate Louise Marie to take part in the initial European Union mission in the region.
The frigates will strengthen a multinational fleet that protects commercial shipping from Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis, who have been attacking ships with missiles and drones in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The world’s second largest container shipping company, AP Møller-Mærsk, is headquartered in Denmark, and the third largest container shipping company, CMA CGM, is based in France.
“As a maritime power, Denmark has a clear interest in contributing to maritime security,” Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement. “Houthi attacks on international shipping, and by extension the security of the high seas, are deeply concerning and pose a serious threat to the international world order.”
The Houthis have responded to the war in the Gaza Strip by vowing to attack all ships connected to Israel in the Red Sea. Trade volumes through the Suez Canal have fallen by an estimated 42% in the past two months following the attacks, and the canal will handle 15% of global trade in 2023, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. .
Earlier this month, the French air defense frigate Alsace headed for the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, joining the Languedoc already in the area. Alsace cooperated with US Navy destroyer USS Kearney and Indian Navy destroyer USS Visakhapatnam after a tanker ship operated by Trafigura and transporting a cargo of naphtha was hit by an anti-ship attack launched by the Houthis on January 27. and assisted in extinguishing the fire on the tanker Merlin Luanda. -Launching ballistic missiles in the Gulf of Aden.
British frigate Diamond used air defense missiles over the weekend dodge a drone attack From the Houthis in the Red Sea. The U.S., British and French navies have regularly engaged the Houthis with missiles and drones since December, and the U.S. and Britain carried out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen last month in retaliation.
By running a multinational coalition, we can get ships out of theaters of operations before weapons are exhausted and partners can return to duty, said First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff of the Royal Navy. General Sir Ben Key said. Last week’s Paris Naval Conference. He said there were a number of “really effective ports” in the region around the Red Sea, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman, which could provide missile resupply and technical assistance.
The United States is working to develop reloading at sea, with Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro requesting experiments to see what it would look like “sometime this summer,” said U.S. Chief of Naval Operations. General Lisa Franchetti spoke at the Paris conference. .
Rudy Ruitenberg is Defense News’ European correspondent. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets, and politics.