Hours after the EU Council confirmed
the launch of its Red Sea defensive mission, France’s armed forces reported the
first actions under the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES mission. France’s navy has been active in the
region since it decided to proceed independently of the U.S.-led Operation
Prosperity Guardian but highlighted its overnight actions in the region.
The
General Staff of the Armed Forces reports that its Multi-Mission Frigates
overnight detected multiple drone attacks coming from Yemen in their respective
patrol areas in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea. This followed an
active day in which a Houthi spokesperson said they had targeted two commercial
ships and shot down a U.S. drone. The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations also
reported drones had been tracking a ship in the Red Sea for approximately 30
minutes.
France said its forces engaged and
destroyed an unspecified number of the drones. In a statement, the General
Staff said, “These actions contribute to maritime security, from the Suez Canal
to the Strait of Hormuz, and contribute to the defense of freedom of
navigation, the objective of the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES operation launched by the
European Union on February 19 under Greek command.”
Also, for the first time in nearly three weeks a
CMA CGM containership, Jules Verne (186,470 dwt) transited the
Red Sea. The company confirmed the trip in a brief statement to The Maritime
Executive, saying, “In coordination with French naval forces, the CMA
CGM Jules Verne transited the Red Sea without incident, escorted by
the frigate Alsace. For the safety of our crews and ships, CMA CGM
will not comment further.”
CMA CGM
had suspended all transits of the Red Sea as of February 1, after one of its
vessels was targeted by the Houthi. Prior to that, the shipping company had
been deciding on a case-by-case basis sending a limited number of ships through
the Suez Canal and Red Sea, while CEO Rodolphe Saade had told the Financial
Times in an interview that it was challenging because they were delayed waiting
for their escorts. He had said the security problems were causing extensive
disruptions in the company’s schedule but the safety of the crew and ships was
the top concern.
The CMA CGM Jules Verne (11,358
TEU), registered in Malta, is operating on the company’s Mediterranean Club
Express route. Her AIS track shows she transited the Suez Canal on February 12
and made a scheduled port call in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Yesterday, February 19,
her AIS showed her in Djibouti, which appears to be an unscheduled stop, as the
vessel proceeds to its next port, Port Klang, Malaysia.
EU officials said yesterday 19
Feb that they expected to have at least
four vessels in the Red Sea region under the new mission in “the next few
weeks,” without confirming which nations would be supporting the operation. It
was expected that France would contribute, along with Germany which has dispatched a frigate to
the Mediterranean in advance of a vote by parliament at the end of this week,
and Denmark which already has a frigate in the Red Sea after a recent approval
by its parliament.