EU NAVFOR ASPIDES
The European Union naval operation protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf, its legal basis and its mandate.
EU NAVFOR ASPIDES is the European Union maritime security operation established to safeguard freedom of navigation in relation to the Red Sea crisis. It was created by Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/583 of 8 February 2024 and launched by Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/632 of 19 February 2024, with its operation headquarters at Larissa in Greece.
The mandate is defensive. Article 1(5) of the founding decision limits the operation to accompanying vessels, ensuring maritime situational awareness, and protecting vessels against multi-domain attacks at sea, in full respect of international law including the principles of necessity and proportionality. Its area of operation under Article 1(3) covers the Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz straits and international waters in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
The full article will cover the founding and launching decisions, the successive extensions of the mandate, the added tasks on critical submarine infrastructure and regional capacity building, how an owner requests an accompaniment, and the limits of what a defensive mandate delivers.