The crew of the car carrier Galaxy Leader has been “welcomed” to Yemen after the vessel’s seizure by Houthi forces.
Footage released on X, formerly Twitter, claimed to show the commander of the Yemeni navy, Major General Muhammad Fadl Abdulnabi, addressing the seafarers on the bridge.
The crew members have their faces blurred in the video.
“Welcome to Yemen. You are our guests here,” Abdulnabi said through an English translator.
“We consider all of the crew as Yemeni people. Anything you want, we will bring it. You can consider Yemen as your own country.”
The 5,100-ceu Galaxy Leader (built 2002) was seized as a bargaining chip as the Houthis seek to exert pressure on Israel to stop its war in Gaza.
The Houthi leadership has said the release of the vessel and its crew will be discussed when “America and Israel stop killing Palestinians in Gaza and bring in water, medicine and food”.
The Yemen Press Agency reported that the visit took place on Wednesday.
Abdulnadi said the seafarers would be treated according to “the values of the true Islamic religion that urge good treatment of detainees, regardless of their nationalities or religions”.
He warned that naval operations would continue to target Israeli-flagged ships, Israeli companies or Israeli-owned vessels, and urged all ships passing through the Red Sea not to sail near Israeli vessels, or disable identification devices.
The commander also said companies should not ship goods on Israeli vessels.
Selfies by the ship
Satellite imagery has confirmed that the Ray Car Carriers vessel, ultimately owned by Israel’s Rami Ungar, has been transferred to the Hodeidah anchorage.
X user Bharwana posted footage purporting to show Yemeni residents taking boat trips to the ship and posing for selfies.
“Galaxy Leader is the new tourist attraction in Yemen. Yemeni taking boat rides to take pictures with the grounded Israeli vessel,” the post said.
