It has been only a month since the cargo ship Galaxy Leader was hijacked by Yemeni rebels. The crew has since been in the hands of Houthi militias backed by Iran, which has been punishing maritime traffic in the Red Sea in retaliation for indiscriminate Israeli bombings of Gaza.
The gigantic ship has become a genre Tourist attraction for local people. They go on deck, take photos, and step on the US or Israeli flag hanging on the ground. Pirates decorated the merchant ship with slogans such as “Long live the Al-Qasam Brigades,” a reference to the armed wing of Hamas that launched the attack on October 7 that killed nearly 1,200 people.
Dozens of armed men guard Galaxy Leader’s crew of 22 sailors Mexicans, Bulgarians, Ukrainians and Filipinos. The Houthis promised to treat them as “guests according to Islamic principles” as long as they were not Israelis. They met with their families last week.
Khat drug balls
Videos distributed by the kidnappers show them getting along with the rebels, singing and smiling. In one of them, one of the crew members is seen holding a dress. a large ball of khat plant, a local medicine, on the cheek. A Yemeni man next to him is recording on his mobile phone while he plays a song on an oud, a type of Yemeni guitar.
“Qat (or khat) is a leaf It should be consumed fresh and causes a roller coaster of sensations.“First comes enthusiasm and creativity, then decay and introspection,” diplomat Javier Puga explains in his book on Yemen Arabia Feliz. Drugs serve a transcendent function in Yemeni society and economy, he writes, “compared to alcohol in the West, opium in Colonial China, or hookah in other Arab countries.” “From twelve o’clock at noon, after prayer – salat al-zhur – men flock to the markets for this amphetamine factory spread throughout the city” Sana’a is the capital of Yemen.
“Up to 2,000 visitors per day”
Boots Galaxy LeaderThe man, who was flying a Panamanian flag but was linked to an Israeli businessman according to the kidnappers, was anchored off Yemen’s Al Salif port. Hundreds of locals arrive there, board small boats and head out to see the Houthi rebels’ big game. They receive “up to 2,000 visitors” every day, one of the kidnappers told the EFE agency of the Galaxy Leader’s guards during a tour prepared for the international press on December 8.
When visiting Yemenis board the cargo ship, they chant slogans against Israel and the United States or dance on the deck carrying Yemen’s iconic knife, jambia, on their belts. Hatred of the Jewish State of Israel is ingrained in the political thought of these Shiite Muslim rebels (one of the two main branches of Islam, along with the Sunnis). In fact, the slogan of the Houthis is: “Allah is the greatest, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam.”
The Houthis have been attacking ships belonging to Israeli companies since the start of Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip, and this attack has already caused more than 20 thousand people to die under bombs.
Yemen, located south of Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Peninsula, is the poorest country in the Middle East and has been experiencing a civil war that has killed more than a quarter of a million people since 2014. The Houthis control the western half of the country and from there Bab el Mandeb Strait, The one that all ships crossing the Suez Canal must pass to transport or transport goods or fuel from Asia to Europe and vice versa.
Iranian missile adaptations
Iran and China are using home-made adaptations of their missiles and drones. Thus, they managed to control global trade by sea. Major shipping companies, such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd and oil company BP, They announced that they had abandoned that route and would use the much longer and more expensive route across the African border. This already has an impact on fuel prices, which is exactly the strategy of Yemeni rebels and, for some analysts, Iran, which is behind the plan.
To respond to the threat, the United States formed an international coalition that would bring warships to the region. Inside Operation Welfare Guardian American, British, Canadian, French or Italian ships will participate. The Pentagon initially assured that the Spanish would be involved, but Defense Secretary Margarita Robles warned that this was not yet finalized and that Spain would not participate unless it was part of an EU or NATO mission. Other countries, such as Germany, are still studying their possible participation.
Meanwhile, global shipping industry They experience moments of tension because they are not aware of the alliance’s intentions. The Red Sea is one of the most important shipping routes in the world: it carries approximately 14% of global maritime trade. A prolonged paralysis would add further inflation to the rise in prices already caused by the war in Ukraine.