Guido Crosetto

Italy will provide the admiral in command of a European Union Red Sea naval mission to protect ships from attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Friday.

A Turkish cargo vessel that Italian special forces boarded after the crew detected a group of unidentified people on board is now sitting off the southern city of Naples, website MarineTraffic showed, while police continue to investigate the situation.

"Everything ended well," Italian minister Guido Crosetto wrote on Twitter.

In his view, Italy needs to strengthen its political, diplomatic and military presence in the region. He believes Italy has many competitors among both its allies and potential adversaries that are ready to exploit the opportunities offered by the context if they get a chance.