NYK Lines car carrier Galaxy Leader hijacked

Screengrab from video posted on X

The Galaxy Leader, a Bahamas-flag car carrier leased by Japan’s NYK Lines has been hijacked by Iran-affiliated Houthi militia, who described it as “an Israeli ship,” and taken to a Yemeni port. Al Jazeera cites a Houthi spokesman as saying the seizure of the ship was in response to the “heinous acts against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza and the West Bank.”

NBC news reports U.S. officials as saying that at around 1 p.m. Sunday local time, a helicopter hovered over the Galaxy Leader and several armed individuals rappelled down to the deck.

Video posted on X (formerly Twitter) is said to show the Galaxy Leader subsequently entering the port of Hodeidah.

NYK Lines released this statement:

“On the evening of November 19 in Tokyo (early afternoon local time), NYK was informed by Galaxy Maritime Ltd., 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.

“At 8:30 a.m. today, NYK organized a crisis management center at its head office to gather information and manage this incident. As the vessel’s charterer, we are prioritizing the safety of the 25 crew members.

“We will report additional information as soon as it becomes available”

Isle of Man based Galaxy Maritime, the vessel’s registered owner, is affiliated with Ray Car Carriers, the world’s largest car carrier leasing company, which is controlled by Israeli business man Rami Ungar.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister released this statement

“Israel strongly condemns the Iranian attack against an international vessel.

“The ship, which is owned by a British company and is operated by a Japanese firm, was hijacked with Iran guidance by the Yemenite Houthi militia.

“Onboard the vessel are 25 crew members of various nationalities including Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Mexican.

“No Israelis are onboard.

“This is another act of Iranian terrorism and constitutes a leap forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world, with international consequences regarding the security of the global shipping lanes.”

Iran has denied any involvement in the Galaxy Leader hijacking with Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kana’ani telling reporters that “resistance groups in the region act independently and spontaneously based on their interests and that of their people.”