Italy is pressing the European Union to put more warships into Operation Aspides, the EU naval mission protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, as Iranian-backed Houthi forces expand their hold around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Italian escorts resume under rising threat.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto sent a letter to EU High Representative Kaja Kallas calling for “decisive and extremely urgent” reinforcements and fresh contributions from member states, according to reporting by ANSA, Il Foglio and La Repubblica dated 18 September 2026. Rome says Aspides is under-resourced for the traffic needing protection and that delays are already hurting European trade.
Escorts resume while Brussels is asked to share the load
On Friday the Italian Navy said the frigate Carlo Bergamini, serving under Aspides, had begun escorting the Italian merchant ship Jolly Oro, owned by Ignazio Messina & C., on a northbound transit of Bab el-Mandeb. The Navy called the move “a concrete signal, delivered with excellent timing,” and said the escort would take about two days.
Crosetto had already warned on Thursday that Italy would not wait indefinitely for the EU before acting to keep its merchant fleet moving through the strait — while still preferring to operate inside Aspides rather than outside it. In the letter to Kallas, he describes a force currently limited to one Italian FREMM frigate and one Greek frigate at the chokepoint, leaving escort requests only partly met. Italian reporting says Rome wants a broader EU presence — figures of around six ships have been floated in domestic coverage — and is prepared to send a second Italian frigate if other capitals help pay for the mission.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani backed the push publicly, saying Italy and Greece are doing “a great deal” and that if other members will not send ships they should at least contribute financially. Brussels has defended Aspides: Kallas said Europe continues escort operations while raising alert levels given the deteriorating security picture.
Why Bab el-Mandeb matters beyond Yemen
Bab el-Mandeb links the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and, beyond it, the Suez Canal — a primary artery for Asia–Europe container traffic and energy flows. When the corridor becomes unsafe, carriers divert around the Cape of Good Hope, adding thousands of nautical miles, fuel burn and freight cost. Houthi advances along Yemen’s western coast and islands near the strait have sharpened that risk, with analysts warning knock-on effects for Djibouti and the wider Horn of Africa, where multiple foreign military bases already sit.
Italy’s shipping industry is among the exposed European fleets. Crosetto’s dual message — reinforce Aspides now, or Italy will do more itself and still ask Europe to share the bill — is designed to force a collective answer rather than a national go-it-alone war footing.
What to watch next
Whether other EU members answer Kallas with additional hulls or cash; how long Bergamini and peer escorts can keep Italian and European tonnage moving without a larger task group; and whether Houthi territorial gains around the strait continue to raise insurance and diversion rates. The political clock is short: Crosetto framed the ask as needing action “today,” not after another round of committee delay.
This article is based on reporting from ANSA, Il Foglio, La Repubblica and World Ports Organization coverage as of 19 September 2026. Quotes and operational details are attributed to those sources and may be updated as EU responses and further Navy notices appear.