EU Needs More Ships for Red Sea; European Navies Adjust Hormuz Deployments

A merchant vessel transiting the Red Sea completed its journey safely under the protection of Italian Navy frigate ITS Carlo Bergamini (F590) as part of EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, released Sept. 5, 2026. EU photo The European Union is asking its members to increase the number of ships deployed with European Naval Force Aspides, which is tasked with accompanying merchant ships in the Red Sea to protect them from Houthi attacks.

“We need more vessels because literally there are commercial ships that are waiting in the queue to receive the escort that we do not have enough frigates that can do that,” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said Monday, according to a transcript following a meeting of EU Defense Ministers held in Brussels, Belgium.

Aspides was launched in February 2024 to protect merchant shipping from attacks in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Northwest Indian Ocean. The mission consists of up to a three-ship taskforce made of rotational deployments from EU nations.

But over the past month, Kallas has been pressing for an increase in the number of ships contributed due to the “worsening situation” in the Red Sea. The Yemen-based Houthis resumed attacks on Saudi-linked ships in the Red Sea in July after announcing a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia. Since then, the Houthis seized Perim Island, a parcel of land that gives the Iranian proxy group a strategic foothold over the Bab el-Mandeb, USNI News reported.

Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb showing Perim Island and Ras Menheli, also known as Bab-el-Mandeb Peninsula and Shaikh Said Peninsula, taken from the International Space Station on March 13, 2010. NASA photo Italy and Greece are the main ship contributors. Italian Navy frigate ITS Carlo Bergamini (F590), which is operating as the flagship for Aspides, is deployed for the mission.

Italian Navy minehunters ITS Crotone (M5558) and ITS Rimini (M5561), currently deployed in Djibouti for Aspides, were ordered to return to Italy for maintenance and crew rotation, according to a Wednesday announcement from Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosett. The two minehunters were included in the Aspides deployment to reduce response times for mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz, Crosett said. The minehunters will be replaced by two similar ships.

“This is a rotation of units, necessary to ensure the long-term efficiency, maintenance, and operational availability of our ships, without interruption in the activities carried out by Italy as part of the European mission,” Crosetto said.

Two unidentified countries have hinted that they would provide additional ships to escort merchant vessels, Kallas said Monday. However, the need is not just about the quantity of ships but also the type of ships – specifically frigates and air defense support are needed.

“When Aspides was put in place, then the indication was that it needed at least 10 ships. The situation is even more grave right now, as we see increased attacks. Also we see that the Strait of Hormuz is closed. This is a vital waterway for the trade. So, I would assume that it is more than 10, but we do not have that much right now,” Kallas said according to a Sept. 21 transcript.

The Trump administration has argued that the Strait of Hormuz is open, while Iran claims it is closed.

EU members have already pledged a number of frigates and destroyers to the Mediterranean in anticipation of a U.K. and French-led multinational mission to protect merchant vessels in the nearby Middle East in response to the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

The mission was spearheaded in April to conduct mine clearance operations in the Strait of Hormuz with the caveat that the mission would only begin when a sustainable ceasefire agreement was put into place.

A ceasefire has yet to hold.

HMS Dragon at sea on June 29, 2026. Royal Navy photo British, Dutch, Italian and German naval vessels that deployed to the Mediterranean and Red Sea are returning or have returned home as the mission commencement continues to remain in limbo.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon (D53), Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Ruyter (F804) and minehunter HNLMS Willemstad (M864), Italian Navy minehunters ITS Crotone (M5558) and ITS Rimini (M5561) and German Navy fleet oiler FGS Mosel (A512) are concluding their deployments to the region.

Ships deployed by the Netherlands and Italy are slated to return home but will be replaced, the countries announced.

Netherlands frigate De Ruyter set out on April 12 for a circumnavigation deployment called Pacific Archer 2026 that would see it pass through the Middle East, Indo-Pacific, Hawaii, Panama Canal and the Caribbean before arriving home in the Netherlands. On June 19, having departed Tokyo to head to Hawaii, the frigate was rerouted to the Strait of Hormuz for a potential deployment with the Multinational Military Mission. The frigate embarked a multinational staff in early August in preparation for the mission.

The Netherlands, in May, also deployed minehunter HNLMS Willemstad (M864) to join Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2, a naval task force focused on mine countermeasures in the Mediterranean Sea. Willemstad was also made available to join the multinational mission.

De Ruyter arrived home on Sept. 22, having been replaced by frigate HNLMS Evertsen (F805). Willemstad is also slated to return home.

HNLMS Evertsen (F805) departs Sept. 27, 2026, for the Middle East. Ministry of Defense photo “Whether and when the cabinet actually deploys the frigate in the Strait of Hormuz depends on developments in the security situation and political decision-making,” reads a Netherland Ministry of Defense news release.

Evertsen will also support the EU missions Aspides and Atlanta when sailing through the relevant operational areas during its deployment, according to the release..

The Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) reported that Royal Navy destroyer Dragon docked in the naval base in Gibraltar on Saturday, seemingly en route to its homeport.

Dragon deployed in March to defend Cyprus from Iranian drone and missile attacks as of a result of ongoing hostilities in the region. In early May, Dragon transited the Suez Canal to join the French Carrier Strike Group led by aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91), which was directed to head to the Middle East in anticipation of the multinational mission.

On July 4, Macron announced that the French CSG would head home after the U.S. and Iran agreed on June 17 to a ceasefire. The ceasefire later crumbled.

Two French Navy frigates and two minehunters stayed behind. Both frigates remain deployed in the region, according to the latest French Armed Forces Operational Status Update. According to the update, one frigate was made available on an ad-hoc basis to support EUNAVOR Aspides missions.

Dragon, on June 18, escorted Royal Navy mine countermeasures mothership RFA Lyme Bay (L3007), German Navy minehunter FGS Fulda (M1058) and fleet oiler FGS Mosel (A512) as they transited the Suez Canal to deploy for the Hormuz mission. The two German Navy ships stationed themselves at Djibouti.

The German Ministry of Defense announced on July 23 that Fulda and Mosel would redeploy to the Mediterranean. Maintaining forces in the region – given the volatile political situation, the unlikely short-term establishment of a permissive environment and the unpredictable timely start of operations – represented an avoidable strain on the ships, reads the release.

Lyme Bay remains deployed with AIS data placing it north of Zanzibar, Africa. Ship spotters sighted Mosel and sister ship FGS Rhein (513) on Sunday docked in Rota, Spain. Both the German and U.K. Defense Ministries have not issued recent information on the status of deployments.