Houthi rebels are gaining no advantage by holding the crew of the car carrier Galaxy Leader and the 25-strong group should be released immediately, its manager said on Wednesday.
The seafarers from Bulgaria, the Philippines, Ukraine, Mexico and Romania have been held for seven months off the Yemen coast at Hodeidah, following the helicopter-backed operation by Houthi armed forces.
The seizure of the ship on 19 November has been followed by dozens of missile and drone attacks by the Houthi regime against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and has seen most ships rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope.
The 5,100-ceu Galaxy Leader (built 2002) is owned and managed by Ray Car Carriers. The Isle of Man-based company is ultimately owned by Israeli Rami Ungar. The ship is technically managed by Stamco Shipmanagement of Greece, according to Equasis.
The ship’s owner and manager have previously expressed concern that the 25 have been “forgotten by the outside world” and renewed its call for their release.
The governments of crew members have been “working hard to make contact with the Houthis and obtain the release of their citizens, who have nothing whatsoever to do with any regional or local conflicts”, said the manager in a statement.
“After seven months of having to feed the 25 hostages and deal with their security, managers believe there is nothing to be gained by the Houthis in keeping the 25 crew members and ask for them to be released home to their families without further delay.”
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