Houthis Say They Will Free the Crew of a Cargo Ship They Hijacked 14 Months Ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Wednesday that they would free the crew of a commercial vessel, the Galaxy Leader, that they hijacked 14 months ago as part of their campaign of attacks in the Red Sea to support Hamas in its war against Israel.

The decision is consistent with an announcement made on Sunday by the rebel group, which is backed by Iran, to scale back its attacks, given a cease-fire in the conflict in Gaza that went into effect over the weekend.

The Houthis took the Galaxy Leader to the Yemeni port of Al-Hudaydah and since then have held its crew hostage. The World Cargo News website reported in November that its 25-member crew included nationals of the Philippines, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Mexico and Romania.

A senior Houthi official, Nasser Al-Din Amer, said on social media that the detained crew members would be freed on Wednesday. The Yemeni television channel Al-Masirah, which is affiliated with the rebels, said that the decision had been ordered by the Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and was coordinated with Hamas and mediated by Oman.

It was not possible to confirm the release independently.

The Galaxy Leader, which is designed to carry vehicles, sails under the flag of the Bahamas and was shown on Wednesday as “stopped” in the Red Sea and out of range of satellite navigation, according to MarineTraffic, a ship tracking app and website that provides real-time information about vessels around the world.

The capture of the vessel, which had been en route to India from Turkey, was one of the most audacious maritime operations by the Houthis and came at the start of their campaign in support of Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggering the war in Gaza.