Home
FacebookTwitterSearchMenu
  • Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • News
  • Features
  • Knowledge Library
  • Columns
  • Customs
  • Jobs
  • Directory
  • FX Rates
  • Categories
    • Categories
    • Africa
    • Air Freight
    • BEE
    • Border Beat
    • COVID-19
    • Crime
    • Customs
    • Domestic
    • Duty Calls
    • Economy
    • Employment
    • Energy/Fuel
    • Events
    • Freight & Trading Weekly
    • Imports and Exports
    • Infrastructure
    • International
    • Logistics
    • Other
    • People
    • Road/Rail Freight
    • Sea Freight
    • Skills & Training
    • Social Development
    • Technology
    • Trade/Investment
    • Webinars
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Send us news
    • Editorial Guidelines
Sea Freight

Houthis promise release of Galaxy Leader

22 Jan 2025 - by Staff reporter
Houthi rebels on the deck of the roll-on roll-off vehicle carrier they hijacked in November 2023. Source: gCaptain
0 Comments

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • E-mail
  • Print

Yemen's Houthi militant group has indicated that it is preparing to release the car carrier Galaxy Leader that it captured along with the vessel’s crew in November 2023.

This comes after the Houthis indicated that the group would halt attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea, with the exception of Israeli-owned or -flagged vessels, following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on 19 January.

A senior official of the Houthi militant group told Japan's All-Nippon News Network that “we guarantee that the ship and its crew will be freed in the coming days”. He said the release of the crew and car carrier, which has been held for 429 days, was being facilitated with help from Palestinian negotiators.

Armed Houthi militants boarded the car carrier by helicopter and seized control of the vessel on November 19, 2023, taking both crew and vessel hostage, marking the first high-profile attack on commercial shipping after the war broke out in Gaza.

The militants justified the seizure saying that the ship's commercial operator, UK-based Ray Car Carriers, had Israeli-linked ownership interests. They moved the vessel to anchorage near Hodeidah, Yemen, where it was opened as a popular tourist attraction for locals who were allowed aboard the ship as sightseers.

The group refused to release the crew despite repeated appeals by the International Maritime Organisation, the International Chamber of Shipping, and the Philippine government, to let them go. Some of the crew, which includes Filipinos, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Mexicans and a Romanian,  had already been working on the vessel for almost two years when it was captured.

Since the seizure of the Galaxy Leader, Houthi militants have attacked with missiles, drones and bomb boats, more than 100 vessels transiting the region. Two ships were sunk during the conflict, leading to the death of four seafarers.

Sign up to our mailing list and get daily news headlines and weekly features directly to your inbox free.
Subscribe to receive print copies of Freight News Features to your door.

eThekwini Municipality’s R181m road upgrade on track

Road/Rail Freight

Despite some technical difficulties, construction is progressing according to plan.

15 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Piracy activity spikes in the wake of Houthi attacks

Sea Freight

There’s been an 18.2% increase in seaborne criminality for the first-quarter period of 2024.

12 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Commission commits itself to enforce “reasonableness test”

Logistics
Sea Freight

Demurrage and detention fees must meet a “reasonableness” test.

12 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Automated weighbridge solution could stop coal theft

Logistics
Road/Rail Freight
Technology

JustWeights believes its automated solution can justify the weight integrity of coal cargo.

12 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Mining and manufacturing production rebounds

Economy
Logistics
Other

The largest manufacturing contribution came from wood, paper and paper products, which rose 14.9%.

12 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Motorists can safely ignore e-toll bills

Other
Road/Rail Freight

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse will take up the legal battle for road users who may still receive a summons.

12 Apr 2024
0 Comments

WTO forecasts rebound in global trade

Economy
Logistics

Regional conflicts, geopolitical tensions and economic policy uncertainty pose substantial downside risks.

12 Apr 2024
0 Comments

End-May deadline to restore full access to Port of Baltimore

Imports and Exports
Logistics

A limited access channel could open by the end of this month.

12 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Peel Ports Group seeks bids for major UK ports upgrades

International
Logistics
Sea Freight

The operator’s new long-term framework covers projects across its entire portfolio in the UK and Ireland.

11 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Transport minister hammers last nail into e-toll coffin

Logistics
Road/Rail Freight

Motorists will no longer be billed for using the toll roads after midnight tonight.

11 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Mozambique’s LNG province primed for strong agricultural harvest

Logistics
Other

Agricultural output in Cabo Delgado could generate over MZN8 billion, about $125.5 million.

11 Apr 2024
0 Comments

Diversified logistics provider announces new organisational structure

Logistics

K+N has stated that the changes will not have a significant impact on its workforce.

11 Apr 2024
0 Comments
  • More

FeatureClick to view

Namibia 23 May 2025

Border Beat

BMA steps in to help DG and FMCG cargo at Groblersbrug
21 May 2025
The N4 Maputo Corridor crossing – congestion, crime and potholes
12 May 2025
Fuel-crime curbing causes tanker build-up at Moz border
08 May 2025
More

Featured Jobs

New

JNR Seafreight Export Controller

Tiger Recruitment
Johannesburg (Linbro Park)
28 May
New

Supply Chain Specialist

Lee Botti & Associates
Cape Town
28 May
More Jobs
  • © Now Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Freight News RSS
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Send us news
  • Contact us