The Belgian frigate Louise-Marie has joined the European operation Aspides in the Red Sea.
The Louise-Marie will participate in the Aspides mission for “just over five weeks” before moving onto a two-week stint in the Strait of Hormuz for the Agenor mission, which has long been scheduled.
Launched by the European Union on 19 February with a one-year mandate, Aspides aims to secure commercial navigation in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and up to the north-western area of the Indian Ocean.
The Aspides operation does not carry out any on-land attacks, with its mission being purely defensive. It escorts merchant vessels, protects them against potential offensives, and monitors the situation, with the aim of preserving as much freedom of navigation for trade as possible and preventing the spread of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout the region.
The operation is commanded from an operational headquarters in Larissa, Greece.
In January, all 27 members agreed in principle on a defensive naval mission in the Red Sea and surrounding areas. The Belgian government had already announced it would participate in the fleet with the Louise-Marie, which has been at sea since 10 March with 175 crew members.
Read More Via The Brussels Times
Morning Briefing
Malta Eyes Regulation of Prediction Markets Amid Insider Trading Concerns
Government wants Malta to become one of the first countries to regulate prediction market...
The World Health Organization on Sunday declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda to be a public health emergency of international concern.
The WHO sa...
Morning Briefing
Malta Eyes Regulation of Prediction Markets Amid Insider Trading Concerns
Government wants Malta to become one of the first countries to regulate prediction market...
Major surveys point to diverging gaps between major parties
Two electoral surveys published over the weekend offered constrasting views of the size of the gap in favour of the Labour ...
The European Parliament has thrown its weight behind demands for a bigger long-term EU budget, approving its position for negotiations on the bloc’s next seven-year financial framework f...
Disinformation is no longer spreading only through fringe actors or political agitators, but through a digital system that rewards outrage, sensationalism and engagement above accuracy, ...
The privatization process for SAC, the company that manages the airports of Catania and Comiso, has reached a critical stage, with the outcome of expressions of interest expected in earl...
Microsoft is shopping for artificial-intelligence startups as the software company prepares for a future independent of its once-vital partner OpenAI, five people familiar with the matt...
“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says JONATHAN ...
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
The regeneration project of Birgu’s main square by Studjurban completed last year, gained further international attention with a Special Mention award at the internationally recognised A...
Malta Public Transport has launched a new digital signage system across key transport hubs in Malta and Gozo, providing passengers with real-time travel information. The system has been ...
The United States launched what it described as “self-defense” strikes against Iranian military targets after three US Navy destroyers came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, sharply ...
French shipping giant CMA CGM reported that its vessel San Antonio was attacked while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving several crew members injured and the ship damaged. The...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia was seeking to draw Belarus deeper into its war in Ukraine and was weighing plans to attack Ukraine's north or a NATO country from Belarus...
Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities have named former presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak as a suspect in a major graft investigation involving alleged money laundering.
Accor...
