All-Nippon News Network (ANN) has reported that the Houthi group plans to release the Japanese-operated cargo ship Galaxy Leader, seized in the Red Sea in November 2023.
The announcement coincided with the ceasefire in Gaza. Houthi official Mohamed Al-Buhayti stated in an interview that the group intends to free the vessel and its crew in the coming days, facilitated through Palestinian negotiators. He confirmed that the decision follows repeated requests from the Japanese government.
On November 19, 2023, while travelling through the Red Sea, armed Houthis boarded the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier leased by the Japanese shipping corporation NYK, using a helicopter.
The crew of Galaxy Leader remains captive, despite repeated calls by the International Maritime Organization and other industry bodies to release them.
We call on the Houthis to immediately end all hostilities, to release all crews currently being held captive and provide concrete guarantees that no other seafarer will suffer the same fate. Until that happens, shipping companies and charterers must take every possible step to avoid putting seafarers’ lives at risk in this region.
…the ITF said in a statement earlier this week.
