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22-11-2023
DAMASCUS/ TEHRAN/ DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthis say they have taken control of a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea as the war in Gaza sends tensions soaring in the region.
The Houthis, who control northern Yemen and its Red Sea coast, said the ship was Israeli, but Israel described it as a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo vessel with no Israeli nationals on board.
Some 25 people are believed to have been on board the Galaxy Leader reported to be partly owned by an Israeli businessman and sailing under the flag of Bahamas when it was seized en route from Turkey to India.
Ownership details in public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.
Ungar told The Associated Press news agency he was aware of the incident but could not comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time.
International shipping often involves a series of management companies, flags and owners stretching across the globe in a single vessel.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the seizure of the ship was in response to the “heinous acts against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza and the West Bank”.
“If the international community is concerned about regional security and stability, rather than expanding the conflict, it should put an end to Israel’s aggression against Gaza,” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Iran denied Israeli claims that it was involved in the seizure of a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said today.
“We have said multiple times that resistance groups in the region act independently and spontaneously based on their interests and that of their people,” Kanaani said, adding that Israeli claims were aimed at diverting attention away from Israeli’s “irreparable defeat” in its battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Yesterday, the Houthis said they had seized a ship, describing it as Israeli. “We are treating the ship’s crew in accordance with Islamic principles and values,” a spokesperson for the group said.
Israel said the incident was an “Iranian act of terrorism” with consequences for international maritime security, adding that the ship is British-owned and Japanese-operated. Japan’s top government spokesperson today confirmed the capture of the Nippon Yusen-operated ship, Galaxy Leader, adding that Japan was appealing to the Houthis while seeking the help of Saudi, Omani and Iranian authorities to work toward the swift release of the vessel and its crew.
“We strongly condemn such acts,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference. No Japanese nationals are among the crew, he said.
Galaxy Leader is owned by a company registered under Isle of Man-headquartered Ray Car Carriers, which is a unit of Tel Aviv-incorporated Ray Shipping, according to London Stock Exchange Group (LSGE) data. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
