Yemen’s Houthis free crew of Galaxy Leader after over a year

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 reported on Wednesday.

It said 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.

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.

Read more: Reuters