France patrolling with US-led Red Sea mission, focused on own ships

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A cargo ship boat model is seen in front of ‘Red Sea’ words in this illustration taken January 9, 2024. — Reuters pic

PARIS, Jan 11 — French forces are patrolling the Red Sea as part of a US-led international mission to protect ships from attacks, but they remain under national command and their priority it to escort French-linked vessels, one of their commanders said today.

Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels to other routes following attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in Gaza.

The United States last month said it and other countries would patrol the Red Sea in a new mission — Operation Prosperity Guardian — to try to assuage fears that disruption in one of the world’s top trading arteries could hit the global economy.

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But some US allies have raised reservations about the plan and baulked at the idea of being under US command.

France, which is already operating in the region with the European-led Atalanta and Agenor missions, has been clear that it would cooperate with Washington, but would make its own decisions.

“The French operation consists on the one hand of patrolling the maritime zones where the Houthis operate to stop them,” Rear-Admiral Emmanuel Slaars, joint commander of French forces in the region, told reporters. “These patrols are in coordination with the Prosperity Guardian operation.”

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“On the other hand, we regularly escort French-flagged ships or with French interests in the Red Sea. We accompany them all along their crossing,” he added.

There was “no subordination to the American partner,” Slaars said. The countries shared real time intelligence and kept in touch to make sure they did not duplicate operations.

Much of the European Union’s trade to Asia transits through the region and Paris also fears that its overseas territories in the Indian Ocean and Pacific could be hurt by the disruption. French container shipping group CMA CGM’s main trade route is through the Red Sea.

“Being able to link the mainland with our territories is an important question of sovereignty,” Slaars said.

International military operations were producing results and 80 per cent of container traffic was still going through the Bab Al-Mandab straits between Yemen and Djibouti, he added.

When asked whether Paris could take part in direct strikes on Houthis if the situation worsened, Slaars said that was not in the scope of the French mission.

At least five container ships operated by CMA CGM have sailed through the southern Red Sea since January 5, LSEG ship tracking data showed.

When asked if French navy vessels were providing direct escorts, a CMA CGM spokesperson declined to go into detail for safety reasons.

CMA CGM said on December 26 it was planning a gradual increase in the number of vessels sailing through the Suez Canal, adding that some vessels had made the transit through the Red Sea based on “an in-depth evaluation of the security landscape”.

Some 24 container ships sailed through southern part of the Suez Canal into the Red Sea in the January 6-January 10 period compared with eight in the December 30-January 3 period, according to data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic.

An Israeli official said the US-led coalition’s tactics were not taking an “offensive” approach.

“It’s mainly defensive to escort, escorting ships and vessels and tankers and to prevent kidnapping and taking over ships,” the official told Reuters.

“There are other countries that are working together and they are not part of the coalition.” — Reuters