A year after its collision, the 25 crew members of the car carrier Galaxy Leaderthe first merchant ship attacked by the Houthi rebels on November 19, are still in captivity. Footage suggests the ship is still docked in the port of Salif, used with questionable PR skills, the crew, themselves staged. A new international appeal has been launched.
Last February, nearly 30 associations were reminded in an international appeal that the 25 crew members of the car carrier Galaxy Leaderthe first merchant ship attacked by the Houthi rebels, on November 19, and then one of only two (with the bulk carrier Ruen) to have been boarded, were still in captivity. Its seizure also raises questions because it remains a one-off operation while hundreds of ships have been the subject of missile and drone attacks, leading to several total losses and a certain number of deaths.
According to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a multinational maritime partnership of 46 countries, including the United States, between November 19, 2023 and mid-September of this year, there were 99 incidents in which four sailors were killed and two were injured. On 42 occasions, the Houthis attempted attacks which failed, they argued.
The Galaxy Leader is this vessel with a capacity of 5,100 cars (CEU) operated by Nippon Yusen (NYK) under the flag of the Isle of Man but owned by the British company Ray Car Carriers, whose main shareholder is the Israeli Abraham Rami Ungar. Which is enough to make him a target. After being boarded, it was escorted to the Yemeni port of Salif located in the governorate of Hodeida with its crew, of different nationalities – 17 Filipinos, three Ukrainians, two Bulgarians, two Mexicans and a Romanian – including the Bulgarian captain. . Given their nationality, their religious (or cultural) obedience, if they have one, questions the fate reserved for them.
Islamist propaganda
Footage suggests the ship is still docked in the Houthi-held port, used with questionable public relations savvy. Its hull serves as a support for pro-Islamist propaganda when the ship is not used as a place of religious celebration. The crew, still on board, is themselves featured, forced to wear scarves with a marked ideology. In the first days following the hostage taking, the Houthis had already made the ship an object of attraction on which tours were organized!
In addition to the way in which they are treated – the care they receive or the contacts they can have with their loved ones, about which little is known and which would not be credible in any case without access from NGOs – , the vessel could be declared a deemed total loss due to the “ deprivation of use for 12 months » and whether he was covered by war risk insurance. The hull is estimated at $40 million and would be insured for a value of $65 million.
Calls without impact?
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), an organization which has maintained vigilance for almost two years on the fate of seafarers and which raises alarms at the international level, reiterates its appeal to the international community on the occasion of this anniversary date. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), BIMCO and the World Shipping Council have joined the ICS to “ urge the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners, detained in flagrant violation of international law. »
A mobilization which risks being ineffective while the actions of the sailors’ countries of origin have yielded nothing. Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov had already declared in mid-January that their release was subject to “ discussions with the Houthis » and that they were about to succeed.
And for two years the Red Sea has been plagued by the abuses of the Houthis, who would only be a minor non-state organization without the armed support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and Lebanese Hezbollah. The joint efforts of naval forces and the various international missions have still not succeeded in eradicating the threat while a large part of the world fleet can no longer transit and those who venture there must be escorted by military vessels.
Right of withdrawal
This is indeed the situation of Galaxy Leader which motivated the decision taken on February 7, on the occasion of the International Bargaining Forum (IBF), a forum which brings together the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the international maritime employers of the JNG*, to be included in the seafarers’ rights to refuse to sail in the high-risk zone, which has been extended from the southern Red Sea to wider areas of the Gulf of Aden and surrounding waters.
Under the terms of the agreement, sailors must have seven days’ notice before entering the high-risk zone. If they exercise their right to withdraw, they must be repatriated at the company’s expense with compensation equal to two months’ basic salary. The compensation of two months basic salary does not apply if the seafarer is transferred to another vessel owned or related to the same owner/manager, at the same rank and salary and under all other conditions. There must be no loss of income or rights during the transfer and the company must bear all expenses and subsistence during the transfer. Will the clarification make it possible to resolve a reality that has gone under the radar: several crews who refused to sail may have been threatened with contract termination.
Beyond that, the threat of a conflagration in the Middle East remains a reality, especially since attacks in Lebanon are a daily occurrence. In the spheres of international diplomacy, we are banking on the affinities between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, the future strongman of the United States to obtain the beginning of a settlement of the conflict, the first more feasible to negotiate with the Republican than with Democrat Joe Biden.
Adeline Descamps
* The Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) today consists of the International Maritime Employers Council (IMEC), the International Mariners Management Association of Japan (IMMAJ), the Korean Shipowners Association (KSA) and the Evergreen company.
