Change of the guard in the Red Sea

The Italian Ministry of Defense has announced that the frigate ITS Federico Martinengo (F596) has replaced, in recent days, the frigate ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591) in the context of national maritime surveillance activities in the Red Sea near the Bab-el Mandeb Strait.

At the end of December, the Fasan vessel, already involved in the Operation Secure Mediterranean after the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, was repositioned in the Red Sea on the orders of Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.

Questo è il lavoro che stiamo svolgendo a tutela della Navi italiane: proteggiamo i nostri traffici commerciali navali che sono vitali per la nostra economia.
Perché anche questo è il ruolo della @MinisteroDifesa e delle Forze Armate.@SM_Difesa @ItalianNavy pic.twitter.com/ejEql3vX8C

— Guido Crosetto (@GuidoCrosetto) January 18, 2024

The naval unit has been deployed in the area to ensure maritime surveillance, safeguard the freedom of commercial routes, and protect merchant vessels following attacks by Houthi militants against traffic in the Bab-el Mandeb Strait. This strait is a crucial maritime communication route providing access to the Mediterranean Sea.

🇩🇯Port of Djibouti🇩🇯
0.5M📸 from 2024-01-19. 2x vessels in favor of the rules based order! Different versions from the FREMM program.
🇫🇷FS Languedoc (D653)
🇮🇹ITS Federico Martinengo (F-596) or
ITS Virginio Fasan (F-591)

If anyone can decipher the pennant number, let me know! pic.twitter.com/X7publHebt

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) January 19, 2024

Just yesterday, a satellite image revealed an Italian frigate docked at the port of Djibouti. From what is visible, it appears to be the ITS Martinengo, while the ITS Fasan is underway, heading back to Taranto.