Since this week, The Netherlands has been in command of the European Aspides operation to protect ships against attacks by Houthis in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea - a crucial trade route. “We must guarantee the basic principle of freedom of navigation.”
For our report, we traveled to Djibouti to board the Karel Doorman, the largest ship of the Dutch navy fleet.
“We are facing a strong armed force,” says Aspides force commander George Pastoor. He says that each day, several Houthi attacks on cargo ships occur. Ships are also fired upon several times along the route. “The Houthis are a learning organization, just like we are. The threat posed by them has definitely increased since November.”