Dubai – YemenAllied with Iran The Houthis They released the Galaxy Leader crew over a year after their release They seized their Bahamian-flagged ship Off the coast of Yemen’s Red Sea, the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported on Wednesday.
She said the crew had been handed over Oman “In coordination” with the three-day-old baby Ceasefire in the Gaza war Between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
The Houthi Supreme Political Council was quoted as saying, “The release of the crew of the Galaxy Leader ship comes within the framework of our solidarity with Gaza and in support of the ceasefire agreement.”
The crew consists of 25 citizens from Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Philippines, Mexico and Romania, according to Galaxy Maritime, which owns the car carrier. The ship was chartered by the Japanese company Nippon Yusen.
Galaxy Leader was escorted to the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen after Houthi forces boarded it at sea on November 19, 2023, shortly after the outbreak of war in Gaza.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said on Monday that the group, officially known as Ansar Allah, is ready to act if Israel violates the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
He added: “We are always ready to intervene immediately any time the Israeli enemy returns to escalation, crimes of genocide, and the siege of the Gaza Strip.”
The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said in a statement, “The release of the Galaxy Leader crew is heartening news and puts an end to the arbitrary detention and separation that they and their families have suffered for more than a year.”
“This is a step in the right direction, and I urge Ansar Allah to continue these positive steps on all fronts, including ending all naval attacks,” Grundberg said.
The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships sailing in the Red Sea since November 2023, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians against Israel’s devastating air and ground war against Hamas in Gaza. They sank two ships, captured another, and killed at least four sailors.
The attacks disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to reroute to longer, more expensive journeys around South Africa for more than a year.
“Innocent seafarers must not become collateral victims in broader geopolitical tensions,” Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, said in a statement.
“We call on all countries to support our seafarers and shippers so that this does not happen again,” the International Chamber of Shipping said in a statement.
