EU Red Sea navy mission commander hopes for more ships to repel Houthi attacks

The commander of a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea wants to significantly increase its size to better defend against possible attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen, as just four warships are patrolling an area twice the size of the 27-nation bloc.

The EU mission - dubbed Aspides, from the Greek for "shield" - has escorted 68 ships and repelled 11 attacks since it was established less than two months ago. It only defends civilian vessels and does not take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone.

"Just a single transit of one of our ships between the two larger distances to the area might take about 10 days, and also to cross the high-risk area takes almost two days," Greek Navy Rear Admiral Vasilios Gryparis, the commander of the mission, told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

He said the high-risk...