Cargo ship crew held by Houthi rebels released after more than a year in captivity
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Houthis in Yemen said 25-member crew of Galaxy Leader had been freed ‘in support’ of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized the Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV has reported.
![[A handout screen grab taken from a video released by the Houthis media center shows Omani officials receiving crew members of the cargo vessel Galaxy Leader at Sana’a airport.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/003ca387cd74d671343461e5edb29f87ef3d84b5/31_0_890_534/master/890.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
It said on Wednesday the crew were handed to Oman “in coordination” with the three-day-old ceasefire in Gaza’s war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. “The release of the Galaxy Leader crew comes within the framework of our solidarity with Gaza and in support of the ceasefire agreement,” it quoted the Houthi supreme political council as saying.
![[This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows Houthi escort the cargo ship Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, Nov. 19, 2023. (Houthi Media Center via AP, File)]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/be2a774ed1c8d841e809435856f64056e01cf297/0_76_1620_972/master/1620.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The crew is comprised of 25 nationals from Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Philippines, Mexico and Romania, according to the car carrier’s owner Galaxy Maritime. The vessel was chartered by Japan’s Nippon Yusen. The Galaxy Leader was escorted to the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Houthi-controlled north Yemen after being boarded by Houthi forces at sea on 19 November 2023, soon after the outbreak of war in Gaza.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Monday the group, known formally as Ansar Allah, was ready to act if Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire agreement. “We are in constant readiness to intervene immediately at any time the Israeli enemy returns to escalation, genocidal crimes and siege of the Gaza Strip,” he said.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said in a statement that the “release of the Galaxy Leader crew is heartwarming news that puts an end to the arbitrary detention and separation that they and their families endured for more than a year“.
