The German Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of a Bundeswehr frigate specializing in mine clearance to the Mediterranean Sea, in order to be ready in case of a joint allied operation, since ships stationed in the North Sea would need several days or weeks to bypass France, Portugal and Spain.
It is a mine countermeasures frigate and two escort ships which, once in the Mediterranean, would no longer await the green light from the Bundestag – the lower house of the German Parliament – to head toward the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the ministry’s spokesperson’s statement, it is more precisely the minehunter ship “Fulda” that will be deployed “in the coming days” as part of NATO. Its presence aims to provide a “significant and visible contribution to an international coalition aimed at protecting freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” It will have on board a crew of 40 to 45 people.
This corresponds to a possible expansion of the European mission “Aspides” to protect maritime traffic in the Red Sea, said the German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, to the daily Local Rheinische Post. An option he regards as “appropriate and feasible.”
The German Navy has a long-standing expertise in mine clearance at sea.
