Yemen Monitor/Newsroom
A German warship has completed its mission to protect commercial ships from Houthi rebels in Yemen and has left the Red Sea early on Saturday morning.
The frigate was part of the European Union’s Aspides naval defense mission and was deployed to the Red Sea in February to protect commercial ships from attacks by Yemeni rebels who are protesting the war in Gaza.
The Red Sea is considered as a major shipping route from Asia to Europe, which passes through the Suez Canal.
The Houthi armed group, who are allied with Iran, want an end to the Israeli military operation in Gaza Strip.
The German military said the frigate, which had a crew of 240, ended its mission at 5:50 a.m. (0350 GMT) and left the operational area in the Red Sea.
The crew of the ship “Hessen” repeatedly shot down drones launched by the Houthies in the first such mission for the German Navy.
The ship was deployed on February 23 after a series of attacks on commercial ships. Major shipping companies had begun to avoid the Red Sea, which is considered to be the shortest part of the sea route between Asia and Europe, impacting the global economy.
The German Defense Ministry said the ship safely escorted 27 commercial ships through the operational area.
In four cases, Houthi drones and missiles were successfully repelled, the ministry said.
In total, the frigate covered more than 11,000 kilometers in the operational area.
The crew provided medical first aid on two occasions, to a soldier from a partner nation and to a member of a commercial ship’s crew.
The 143-meter-long frigate is equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and is designed for escort and maritime surveillance, with a radar capable of monitoring an airspace the size of the North Sea, according to the German military.
It is also known as an air defense frigate, and its weapons systems are capable of chasing targets at a range of up to 160 kilometers.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius described the operation as the most dangerous naval operation in decades during a visit to the frigate days before the mission began.
