EU Operation ASPIDES has escorted hundreds of vessels to safety since 2024.

Omissions

• The exact figure ('hundreds of vessels') does not appear in any of the sources found; the Council sources confirm the described fact (the establishment of ASPIDES in February 2024 and its mandate to protect/escort vessels), not the cumulative count.
• No EUNAVFOR ASPIDES operational statistics page or press release with a cumulative number of escorted vessels could be retrieved within the search budget; the mission publishes such figures periodically and these would be the primary evidence needed.
• Both sources consulted are European Council press releases from the same institution (same 'producer' family), so they do not constitute two fully independent corroborations of the count.
• The claim is a vague quantity ('hundreds') rather than a precise figure, which makes it hard to falsify but also impossible to verify numerically without mission reporting.

Sources

• PrimaryCouncil of the EU — press release: Red Sea: Council extends the mandate of Operation ASPIDES to safeguard freedom of navigation"ASPIDES was established by the EU in February 2024 ... shipping since October 2023. The operation was launched with a mandate to protect vessels ..."
• PrimaryCouncil of the EU — press release: Maritime security: Council updates mandates of EU naval operations ASPIDES and Atalanta"EUNAVFOR ASPIDES was established on 8 February 2024 and launched on 19 February 2024 in response to threats to maritime security in the Red Sea."
• PrimaryEUNAVFOR ASPIDES — Mission pageMission description of EUNAVFOR ASPIDES as a defensive maritime security operation protecting vessels, including a stated 100% success rate in protecting WFP vessels delivering humanitarian aid to Somalia.