The Houthis said over the weekend they would stop attacking transiting vessels as long as the cease-fire holds. But big-box ship operators said it would take some time before secu
Hapag-Lloyd reiterated it will return to the Red Sea "when it is sufficiently safe to do so," while Maersk said it was too early to speculate.
The Galaxy Leader was taken in November 2023 at the start of the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
MSC, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, Hapag-Lloyd AG and CMA CGM Group have all been hesitant to resume operations in the Red Sea.
Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire on Wednesday, leading to speculation that the Yemen-based Houthis — who began attacking commercial ships in late 2023 ostensibly in retaliation for Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip — might call off the broadsides for good.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have signaled they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships as a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip takes hold.
Operations at a Red Sea port in Yemen used for aid imports have fallen to about a quarter of its capacity, a UN official said on Tuesday, adding it was not certain that a Gaza ceasefire would end attacks between the Iran-backed Houthis and Israel.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in November 2023 at the start of their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
The move by the Iranian-backed Houthis marks their latest effort to de-escalate their attacks following a ceasefire in Gaza.
On 19 January, Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a halt to their 14-month campaign against Western-affiliated shipping off their country’s coast — except for vessels wholly-owned by Israeli interests or flying the Israeli flag.
Yemen's Houthi rebels announced they will direct attacks only towards Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea following a Gaza ceasefire. They halted previous sanctions on other vessels, having targeted about 100 since November 2023 amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.