Houthis free crew of cargo ship they hijacked 14 months ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday freed the crew of a commercial ship, the Galaxy Leader, which they hijacked 14 months ago as part of their campaign of attacks in the Red Sea to support Hamas in its war against Israel.

The move is in line with the Iran-backed rebel group’s announcement on Sunday to reduce its attacks, given the ceasefire in the Gaza conflict that came into effect over the weekend.

The Houthis took the Galaxy Leader to the Yemeni port of Al-Hudaydah in November 2023 and have held its crew hostage ever since. The World Cargo News website reported in November that its 25-member crew included nationals from the Philippines, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Mexico and Romania.

“This is a moment of deep relief for all of us, not only for the crew and their families, but also for the maritime community as a whole,” said Arsenio Dominguez, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization, in a statement. press release announcing the decision. release. The organization had campaigned for the crew to be released.

A senior Houthi official, Nasser Al-Din Amer, had earlier said on social media that the crew would be released on Wednesday. Yemen’s rebel-affiliated Al-Masirah TV said the move was ordered by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi and coordinated with Hamas and mediated by Oman.

The Galaxy Leader, designed to transport vehicles, is sailing under the flag of the Bahamas and was reported Wednesday as “arrested” in the Red Sea and out of range of satellite navigation, according to MarineTraffic, a ship tracking app and website. ships which provides real-time information on ships around the world. It was unclear what would happen to the ship.