Drone attacks in the Red Sea
Shipowners expect protection from the German Navy
December 16, 2023, 3:57 p.m
The Houthi rebels attack a container freighter belonging to the Hamburg shipping company Hapag-Lloyd in the Red Sea. In addition to the FDP politician Strack-Zimmermann, the shipping association is also calling for protection from the German Navy. Meanwhile, a British warship fends off another drone attack.
After the attack on a container freighter belonging to the Hamburg shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, the Association of German Shipowners has called for an international military alliance to protect civilian shipping in the Red Sea. “It would be appropriate if Germany were to participate accordingly,” said the managing director of the shipping association, Martin Kröger, on Bayerischer Rundfunk. The USA, France and England are already present in the region with naval ships.
It’s not just about protecting merchant ships, but also seafarers: “If you imagine that you are standing on the ship and you are being shot at with rockets and drones and cruise missiles, that is of course an escalation of violence like we see “We’ve never seen this before with merchant shipping and it’s simply completely unacceptable,” said Kröger. The chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, had previously supported a possible involvement of the German Navy in protecting free maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
Kröger referred to the experiences in protecting cargo ships against pirates in the Horn of Africa. “One of the most effective means was convoy travel, where naval ships accompanied merchant ships.” The head of the shipping association explained that they had the necessary weapons on board to fend off drone and missile attacks. The container ship “Al Jasrah” was shot at and damaged on Friday in the strait between Yemen and Djibouti. According to the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, the ship was on its way from the Greek port of Piraeus through the Suez Canal to Singapore. Hapag-Lloyd has suspended shipping traffic through the Red Sea until Monday.
British warship shoots down drone
A British warship has shot down a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea, according to Defense Secretary Grant Shapps. The aircraft had its sights set on merchant shipping, Shapps wrote in the short message service X. The destroyer “HMS Diamond” fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed the target. Great Britain will continue to fend off attacks and protect free world trade. Shapps initially did not provide any further information about the origin of the drone.
Recently, several merchant ships in the Red Sea were attacked by Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. They threaten to prevent ships of any nationality from passing through the Red Sea on their way to Israel. The shipping companies Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd therefore decided not to allow any more ships to sail through the Suez Canal for the time being.
In addition to the “HMS Diamond”, the British Navy also has the frigate “HMS Lancaster” as well as three minehunters and an auxiliary ship in operation in the region. They are intended to protect civilian shipping and prevent an escalation of the Gaza war.