Amid the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis, Germany's navy has taken concrete steps following earlier planning: the minehunter “Fulda” departed Kiel-Wik for the Mediterranean, and supply ship “Mosel” is being pulled from a NATO Aegean mission to support it. Both will join NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2, ready for potential strait deployment pending Bundestag approval.
The minehunter “Fulda” left the Kiel-Wik naval base on Monday with around 40 personnel, including mine clearance divers equipped with sonar and remotely operated underwater drones, heading to the Mediterranean.
The Federal Ministry of Defence announced that the tender “Mosel” will soon end its NATO support role in the Aegean to assist “Fulda”. Both vessels are assigned to NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2. This follows Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack's call for reprioritization and aligns with Defence Minister Boris Pistorius' prior statements on planning under prerequisites like a ceasefire, legal basis, and Bundestag mandate.
“The federal government is willing to make a substantial and visible contribution to an international coalition protecting free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry stated.
