A Dutch frigate will depart Tuesday from the naval base Den Helder to the Persian Gulf for an approximately five-month mission. The frigate will monitor the maritime security situation in the Gulf region. Additionally, voices in the Dutch parliament are calling to allow naval ships to also participate in reactivating an EU naval mission off the coast of Libya.
In the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf region, several serious incidents occurred last year off the coast of Iran, where six oil tankers were heavily damaged and two were detained for some time. This led to rising tensions between Iran and the United States.
For that reason, the EU countries did not want to participate in a mission under American military leadership. On France’s initiative, several Western European countries are now starting a mission intended to enhance maritime security in the area. That decision was made several weeks ago.
Since last week, when several countries agreed in Berlin on a fragile ceasefire in Libya, there is once again a need for international oversight in Libyan waters. At that conference in Berlin, various countries agreed last Sunday to stop providing military support to the warring parties and to work towards a ceasefire.
Until a few years ago, a small fleet of European ships monitored the increasing human smuggling in the area. Because the European ships were mainly focused on intercepting refugees in small boats and bringing them ashore in Europe, that EU operation, Sophia, was discontinued at the time.
Since the fall of dictator Gaddafi in 2011, chaos has reigned in Libya. Militias fight for power and receive weapons and political support from various major countries. Troops of General Haftar control almost all of Libya and receive support from Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The official government, supported by Turkish troops and some European countries, is under pressure and only retains power around the capital Tripoli.
The EU countries have not yet decided their role in monitoring the arms embargo and a ceasefire in Libya. A week ago, Foreign Ministers discussed the issue in Brussels. Several member states keep the option open to participate in a mission.
Dutch Minister Blok also indicated a desire to be 'constructive.' For this reason, two junior coalition parties in The Hague are now advocating participation in that mission. However, the liberal senior coalition party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte is for now opposed, stating that the Dutch navy cannot participate in two missions simultaneously.
At the end of last year, the Dutch coalition cabinet kept open the option of sending a naval ship to the Mediterranean if EU Operation Sophia is restarted, but at that time, it was not yet decided to go together with the French to the Gulf of Hormuz.