Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi insurgents seized a cargo ship called the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea. The ship is owned by a British-based shipping company and operated by a Japanese firm, but the Houthis claimed it was an Israeli target.
The government of Israel denounced the incident as an “Iranian act of terrorism” and said the order to commit the hijacking was given in Tehran.
The Galaxy Leader is flagged from the Bahamas, owned by a company registered in the U.K.’s Isle of Man called Galaxy Maritime, and operated by Japan’s Nippon Yusen corporation, better known as NYK Line. The Japanese firm said the ship held no cargo at the time of the hijacking, and the crew of 25 included members from Bulgarian, Mexico, Ukraine, Romania, and the Philippines, but no one from Israel.
The ship’s tenuous Israeli connection is that Galaxy Maritime is a unit of Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Israeli billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar. The Iran-backed Houthis said this was good enough for them to consider the vessel an Israeli target and attack it while it followed a major shipping lane through international waters.
“All ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or that deal with it will become legitimate targets,” the Houthis insisted.
The insurgents cryptically said the captive crew would be treated “in accordance with Islamic principles and values.”
Chief Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdul-Salam said the Israelis only understand “the language of force.”
“The detention of the Israeli ship is a practical step that proves the seriousness of the Yemeni armed forces in waging the sea battle, regardless of its costs,” he said.
A spokesman for the Houthi military said the ship has been taken to a port in Yemen.
File/Supporters of Shiite Houthi rebels attend a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
The Houthis said Sunday’s hijacking was just the first move in a “battle at sea.” A few days before the attack, the Houthis posted a warning on social media that said “we will sink your ships,” accompanied by a graphic of an Israeli commercial vessel on fire. International maritime groups warned shipping companies there was a real threat to their safety in the Red Sea and advised them to stay as far away from the Yemeni coast as possible.
“This is another Iranian act of terrorism that represents an escalation in Iran’s belligerence against the citizens of the free world, with concomitant international ramifications vis-a-vis the security of global shipping routes,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described the hijacking as “a very serious incident on the global scale.”
“This is not an Israeli ship,” the IDF added.
The Japanese government denounced the hijacking and said it was negotiating with the Houthis for the release of the crew.
“The government of Japan absolutely condemns such an act,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. “We are also urging related countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iran to strongly urge the Houthis to release the ships and sailors as soon as possible.”
Two U.S. defense officials said on Sunday the Houthis flew out to the Galaxy Leader in a helicopter and rappelled down to the deck to seize control. The Biden administration has not made a statement on the record about the incident as of Monday morning.
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an agency of the British military, said the attack occurred about 90 miles from Yemen’s port city of Hodeida, near the coast of Eritrea. The Associated Press said the ship was traveling from Turkey to India with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracker turned off, a step the crew might have taken because they feared they would be targeted by pirates.
