BERLIN: A German navy frigate set sail for the Red Sea on Thursday with the aim of protecting commercial ships from attacks by Yemeni rebels, as part of a planned European Union mission.
The deployment marked “the most serious engagement of a unit of the German navy in many decades,” navy chief Jan Christian Kaack told reporters in Berlin.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched a series of attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November, saying their campaign was in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Red Sea normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.
The unrest has prompted some shipping companies to reroute their vessels away from the Red Sea, making them take the longer and costlier route around the southern tip of Africa.
The “Hesse” frigate set off from the northern German port of Wilhelmshaven with a crew of around 240 people, Kaack said.
It will be able to respond to potential attacks including from missiles, drones and remotely controlled “kamikaze boats,” he said.
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