The Department of National Defence has confirmed Canada's participation in Operation Prosperity Guardian, a United States-led maritime operation to defend commercial ships in the Red Sea and Western Gulf of Aden.
Minister of National Defence Bill Blair said the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) will deploy three staff officers as early as next week under Operation Artemis 鈥� the CAF operation concerned with security in Middle East waters.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had announced Canada's participation on Monday, but Blair confirmed the partnership Tuesday afternoon, providing additional details about how Canada will support the mission.
Under Operation Prosperity Guardian, Canada, the U.S. and other countries will protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
According to reporting by The Associated Press, the move to expand operations follows recent attacks on commercial vessels. In the last four weeks, commercial ships have been attacked or seized a dozen times and 25 members of the MV Galaxy Leader remain hostages in Yemen.
The Red Sea is a major artery for global trade anchored by two strategic waterways 鈥� the Suez Canal and the Bab-al-Mandeb. There are about 400 commercial vessels transiting the southern Red Sea at any given time, according to U.S. officials, and Canada's Department of National Defence warns impediments to the free flow of those vessels can have a cascading economic impact.
The Associated Press reports that Iranian-backed Houthi militants have targeted Israeli-linked vessels throughout Israel's war with Hamas, but recently broadened the attacks to include ships without clear ties to Israel.
Under Operation Prosperity Guardian, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain are expected to deploy resources to the area to provide umbrella protection to as many trade vessels as possible at a given time.
With files from The Associated Press
