Dutch Council of Ministers is expected to approve on Friday the deployment of an air defense and command frigate with 200 soldiers in the Red Sea, according to the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting citing sources familiar with the matter on Thursday.

As per the media, the naval ship will be fully operational on the Red Sea waters by the end of March and it is almost certain the deployment will get approval as the "majority" of ministers voting want to avoid leaving the "defense of merchant ships to other countries alone."

The news came after a recent attack by Houthis against the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence left three people dead and four injured.