To Combat the Houthis: Europe Considers Doubling Its Fleet in the Red Sea

Months after the European Union launched the "Eunavfor Med" mission to protect ships in the Red Sea amid rising attacks on commercial vessels, Admiral Vasilios Grigoris, head of the mission, believes Europeans should increase the naval forces to more than double their current size. Grigoris stated, "We do not have enough assets, especially since the area that needs coverage is vast," according to a report by Bloomberg today, Friday. He also urged EU member states to provide more resources. Meanwhile, he confirmed that four EU vessels have conducted patrols in waters near Yemen and provided close assistance to 164 ships. He noted that these vessels also intercepted more than 12 drones and neutralized four anti-ship ballistic missiles. The European fleet has asserted that all Houthi attacks have failed in the areas of its operations at sea.