DENTIAS: We are sending a warship to the Red Sea

Athens is participating in an international task force on the safety of navigation in the Red Sea after recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on passing ships.

In his statement, the defense minister announced that as part of the international maritime operation Prosperity Guardian, which means protecting prosperity in the Red Sea, Greece will send a warship to ensure free navigation in the area.

The international community faces the greatest security challenge in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region. Attacks on merchant ships by armed men with missiles and drones pose a major threat to human lives, human security, and the stability of the global economy and the well-being of citizens.

Greece, the nation with the largest naval fleet, has a primary interest in maintaining the freedom of maritime zones and protecting the lives of seafarers.

Following the Prime Minister’s order, I asked GETHA’s President Konstantinos Floros and GEN’s President Ioannis Drymousis to participate in the Navy’s warship in “Prosperity Guardian”, an international operation to protect merchant ships and lives. Sailors.

I informed the Egyptian side about this matter.

“It goes without saying that the participating warships have the means for the task,” Nicos Dentias said in a statement.

It is not yet known which warships Greece will send to the region. However, the Greek ship is expected to reach the Red Sea in the coming days to join the international task force.

Due to this, there is a tense situation in the area

The situation in the region remains tense as the US Defense Secretary announced on Monday the creation of a 10-nation Red Sea Alliance to counter the ongoing attacks by Shiite rebels.

In response, Yemeni rebels said on Tuesday they would continue their attacks in the Red Sea, while the group has already stepped up missile and drone attacks – in response to Israel’s attack last month against foreign ships in its territory of Gaza.

“As far as the maritime operations are concerned, they are in full swing and probably won’t go 12 hours without surgery,” the group’s spokesman and chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdelsalam, told Al Jazeera television.

For his part, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned the Houthi rebels’ “unprecedented” attacks on international shipping, saying they posed a “threat” to global trade.

Britain has warned that the security situation in the Red Sea is deteriorating, with ballistic missile and drone attacks taking place. Increased threatA Royal Navy destroyer has agreed to join a US-led operation to protect trade in the region.

British Defense Secretary Grant Shabbs said in a statement that “these illegal attacks are an unacceptable threat to the global economy” that undermine regional security and threaten to drive up fuel prices. “This is an international problem that requires an international solution.”

Why is the Red Sea important?

The Houthis have been staging their attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, or the Mouth of Tears, which lies between Djibouti and Yemen.

It is the southern entrance to the Red Sea, connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal, an important link between Europe and Asia.

Between 12 and 15% of global trade goes through this route, which accounts for 30% of global container traffic: 7% to 10% of world oil and 8% of liquefied natural gas are transported through the same waterway.

Now that the strait is closed, “alternative projects require additional costs and cause additional delays because they disrupt an already integrated supply chain,” notes Marco Forgione, director general of the Export and International Trade Institute.

Detouring ships around Africa adds two weeks to voyages, creating additional costs and port congestion.