Yemen's Houthi rebels release crew of commercial vessel seized in Red
Sea in November 2023
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 [January 23, 2025]
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday
released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in
November 2023 at the start of their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea
corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
The move by the Iranian-backed Houthis marks their latest effort to
de-escalate their attacks following a ceasefire in Gaza. However, it
came as U.S. President Donald Trump moved to reinstate a terrorism
designation he made on the group late in his first term that had been
revoked by President Joe Biden, potentially setting the stage for new
tensions with the rebels.
The Houthis said they released the sailors after mediation by Oman, a
sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that's long been
an interlocutor with the Houthis. A Royal Air Force of Oman jet took a
flight to Yemen earlier Wednesday and took off again about an hour after
the Houthi announcement with the crew, who smiled as they stepped off
into freedom in Muscat.
The Houthis also said Hamas separately requested the release of the
ship's crew of 25, who included mariners from the Philippines, Bulgaria,
Romania, Ukraine and Mexico.
“This step comes in support of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” the
Houthis said in a statement on rebel-controlled SABA news agency.
In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed the release
of 17 Filipino crew members, describing the moment as an “utmost joy.”
The Filipinos, who were in the custody of the Philippine Embassy in
Muscat, Oman, would be flown home soon, Marcos said.
Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the release of two Bulgarians
identified by officials as the ship’s captain, Lyubomir Chanev, and
assistant captain, Danail Veselinov. A government jet was on the way to
Oman to bring the Bulgarians home, the ministry said.
Hans Grundberg, the United Nations’ special envoy to Yemen, called the
crew’s release “heartwarming news that puts an end to the arbitrary
detention and separation that they and their families endured 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
maritime attacks,” he added, using another name for the Houthis.
Vessel's link to Israeli billionaire
The Houthis said they hijacked the Galaxy Leader over its connection to
Israel. The attack launched the rebels' campaign targeting ships in
international waters in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab
el-Mandeb Strait that connects them.
A representative for the Galaxy Leader's owners had no comment on
Wednesday.
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 launch 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.
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This image released by the state-run Oman News Agency show the crew
of the Galaxy Leader arriving in Muscat, Oman, after being released
by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Oman News
Agency via AP)
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 release of the vessel's crew now may have been an effort to
curry favor with the U.S., though the ship still remains moored off
the Yemeni port city of Hodeida.
“This gesture by the Houthis may be intended as a goodwill measure
towards the new Trump administration,” said Yemen expert Mohammed
al-Basha, of the Basha Report risk advisory firm.
However, Trump signed an order urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio
to reinstate a foreign terrorist organization designation on the
Houthis. Rubio separately called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman and the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, who
have led a coalition battling the Houthis since 2015.
“Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to
cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’
capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and thereby
end their attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners,
and maritime shipping in the Red Sea,” the White House said.
Biden lifted the designation early in his term, citing the
humanitarian threat that the sanctions posed to ordinary Yemenis and
to back an de facto ceasefire that still broadly holds in Yemen's
war.
Houthi attacks targeted over 100 commercial ships
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 has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local
health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and
combatants but say women and children make up more than half the
fatalities.
The Houthis have sunk two vessels in their campaign that has also
killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been
intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red
Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included
Western military vessels.
The rebels had maintained that they only targeted ships linked to
Israel, the U.S., or the U.K. However, many of the ships attacked
had little or no connection, including some bound for Iran.
The tempo of Houthi attacks has slowed in recent weeks, particularly
involving ships at sea. That may be due in part to the U.S.
airstrike campaign. The U.S. and its partners alone have struck the
Houthis over 260 times, according to the International Institute for
Strategic Studies.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Jim Gomez
in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.
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