DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized their Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported on Wednesday.

The vessel was chartered by Japan’s Nippon Yusen.

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 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 Nov. 19, 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 U.N. 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”.

“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,” Grundberg said.

The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships plying the Red Sea since November 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s devastating air and ground war against Hamas in Gaza. They have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.

The attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa for more than a year.

“Innocent seafarers must not become collateral victims in wider geopolitical tensions,” Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, said in a statement.

“We call on all nations to support our seafarers and shipping so that this does not happen again,” the International Chamber of Shipping said in a statement. 

Reuters