Yemen navy major general reassures Galaxy Leader’s crew after seizure - Video

A video published by the Yemeni military media depicting the Commander of the Yemeni Navy, Major General Muhammad Fadl Abdulnabi, reassuring the crew of the Israeli-owned Galaxy Leadership anchored on the Yemeni coast after it was seized by the Navy.

Footage released on X, formerly Twitter, claimed to show the commander of the Yemeni navy, addressing the seafarers on the bridge, as it can be shown in the tweet of Arab media satellite channel, Al Mayadeen.

The crew members have their faces blurred in the video released.

The ship “Galaxy Leader” was hijacked by the Houthis near Yemen in the southern Red Sea, raising fears that regional tensions heightened over the Israel-Hamas war were playing out on a new maritime front.

NYK was informed by Galaxy Maritime, which is based in the U.K., that an NYK-chartered pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) named “Galaxy Leader” had been seized near Hodeida, Yemen, while sailing for India. No cargo was on the vessel, as the shipping company says.

The targeted vessel’s group owner was listed as Ray Car Carriers, who were in turn listed as a subsidiary of Abraham Rami Ungar, a company domiciled in Israel, maritime security company Ambrey has revealed in a post earlier this week.

Yahya Sare’e, who is the spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces, warned via social media platform X on November 22 that “the Yemeni armed forces will continue to carry out their military operations until the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank stops.”

“The Yemeni missile force fired a salvo of winged missiles at various military targets of the Israeli entity in Umm al-Rashrash, southern occupied Palestine,” his statement read.

Geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea have increased since the commencement of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) shot down on November 23 multiple one-way attack drones launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen.

The drones were shot down while the U.S. warship was on patrol in the Red Sea. The ship and crew sustained no damage or injury, according to U.S. Central Command.

Ambrey advises now company security officers to assess whether their vessel was owned or managed by an Israel-affiliated company within the last year.

“Tensions in the Red Sea have increased since the commencement of the Israel-Gaza conflict on October 7. The Yemen-based Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) launched its first missile and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attack toward Israeli territory on the 19th of October. There have been several subsequent missile and UAV attacks toward Israel,” Ambrey noted in its statement.

In the company´s threat circular it is revealed that twelve days after the initial air strike the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks and publicly threatened further attacks on Israel.

The Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi threatened on November 14, Israeli shipping in the Red Sea directly for the first time, highlighting that the militant group was aware of Israeli vessels turning off their AIS signals before transiting the southern Red Sea.

Furthermore, it was reported to Ambrey on November 18 that the Houthis would specifically target vessels withholding AIS transmissions.