Italy readies navy to protect its shipping amid Bab el-Mandeb tensions
The navy will prepare to secure Italian vessels and undersea cables as officials warn delays could raise transport costs and consumer prices.
- On Thursday, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced Italy is preparing a possible naval mission to safeguard merchant shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait amid mounting security concerns.
- Security fears surged this month after Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of parts of the Yemen coast, threatening Saudi oil exports rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz.
- Crosetto warned that disruptions to major shipping lanes would drive up transport costs and delay deliveries, pushing higher prices onto Italians, while noting undersea infrastructure vulnerability including data cables and energy links.
- "I have decided to activate the Italian navy to prepare what is necessary to guarantee the safe transit of Italian ships," Crosetto stated, emphasizing the need to prevent bureaucratic delays.
- Though specific naval assets remain undisclosed, Crosetto affirmed the military will intervene with determination to safeguard Italy's security, prosperity, and future economic stability.
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32 Articles
Kreiszeitung
The situation around the important sea route is tense. Italy wants to protect ships with its own navy through the strait Bab al-Mandab – without waiting for the EU.
Italy Mobilizes Navy to Secure Vital Shipping Lanes in Bab el-Mandeb
Italy plans a naval mission to protect its merchant shipping amid rising security concerns in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto emphasizes the urgent need to mobilize the navy to ensure safe vessel transit, highlighting the potential economic impact of delays and vulnerabilities in maritime infrastructure.
Read about Il Fatto Quotidiano.it: Crosetto announces that the Navy will guarantee the passage of the Italian ships to Bab el-Mandeb, without waiting for the mission Aspides.
According to the minister of the Defense, to respect the European bureaucracy would mean "to delay the times," that in cases like this would translate in "to delay the economy." The Government, the Navy and the Defense share this will and have informed the shipowners, has specified
The Minister of Defense: "We will activate in such a way that the Italian ships can start to pass without waiting for the European bureaucracy to come to ours because delay the times in cases like that means delay the economy"
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