DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthis said Wednesday they released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in November 2023 at the start of their campaign in the Red Sea corridor.
The militia said they released the sailors after mediation by Oman.
The crew of 25 included mariners from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico.
The Iran-backed Houthis said they hijacked the ship over its connection to Israel. They then had a campaign targeting ships in international waters, which only stopped with the recent ceasefire in Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A representative for the Galaxy Leader’s owners had no immediate comment.
The Bahamas-flagged vessel is affiliated with an Israeli billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.
The Houthi attack on the Galaxy Leader saw the rebels launched a helicopter-borne raid. Propaganda footage of the raid has been played constantly by the Houthis, who even shot a music video aboard the ship at one point.
On Monday, the Houthis signaled they now will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships after a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip, but warned wider assaults could resume if needed.
However, it likely won’t be enough to encourage global firms to reenter the route that’s crucial for cargo and energy shipments moving between Asia and Europe. Their attacks have halved traffic through the region, cutting deeply into revenues for Egypt, which runs the Suez Canal linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials who say women and children make up more than half the fatalities.