Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto has called for a stronger naval presence in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping amid growing concerns over the Bab al Mandab.
Friday’s statement came just a day after Crosetto said Italy was preparing its navy to safeguard shipping amid rising tensions around the Bab al Mandab, the narrow waterway off Yemen vital for oil shipments and facing threat from the Houthis.
Crosetto also announced on Friday that an Italian aircraft had been hit during Houthi attacks on an air base in Saudi Arabia.
Italy, part of the European Union’s Aspides mission launched in 2024 to protect shipping from Houthi attacks, said on Thursday it was preparing a naval mission in the area, saying it could not wait for an EU response to the latest crisis.
“After what I said, something moved within Aspides, but we need more ships,” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Reuters, declining to estimate how many vessels would be needed.
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have made rapid advances along the Red Sea coast in recent weeks, further complicating shipping routes in a region that also includes the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has already declined because of the US-Iran war.
Key maritime route
The Bab al Mandab is 29 kilometres wide at its narrowest point and is a major maritime route carrying goods and commodities from Asia to Europe through the Suez Canal.
According to commodities data and analytics firm Kpler, petroleum volumes passing through the Bab al Mandab accounted for about 7 percent of global oil output in June.
Assarmatori, one of Italy’s main shipowners’ associations, said about 40 percent of Italy’s trade with the rest of the world passes through the Suez Canal.
Crosetto said on Thursday that Rome had decided to act with its navy because it did not want the response delayed by what he called “European bureaucracy”.
He warned that delays could worsen the situation but did not provide details of the measures under consideration or the naval assets Italy could deploy.
Assarmatori President Stefano Messina welcomed the move, saying it was in line with calls from shipowners.
“The Italian Navy, which has also demonstrated great expertise and preparedness in this area, is capable of operating while awaiting decisions that the European Union will take regarding the Aspides mission,” he told Reuters.
