Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) traveled to Crete to say goodbye to the crew. If the Bundestag approves the mission on Friday, the “Hessen’ will immediately enter the Red Sea from the Egyptian Suez Canal.
The primary goal of the mission is to protect merchant ships from attacks by the Islamist Houthis from Yemen. The Iranian-backed militia attacks ships with long-range missiles, drones and remote-controlled kamikaze boats. It is the Bundeswehr's first foreign deployment for which Pistorius is responsible as Defense Minister.