Yemeni rebels turn hijacked ship into tourist attraction, give crew drugs

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It has just been a month since the cargo ship Galaxy Leader was hijacked by Yemeni rebels. The crew has since been in the hands of the Houthi militia, supported by Iran, which is punishing maritime traffic through the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel’s indiscriminate bombings against Gaza.

The huge ship has become a kind of tourist attraction for the local population. They go up to the deck, take photos and step on the flag of the United States or Israel, displayed on the ground. The hijackers have decorated the commercial ship with slogans such as “long live the al Qasam Brigades”, in reference to the armed wing of Hamas that launched the October 7 attack in which around 1,200 people died.

Dozens of armed men guard the Galaxy Leader’s crew, which is made up of 22 sailors Mexicans, Bulgarians, Ukrainians and Filipinos. The Houthis have promised to treat them “as guests, according to the principles of Islam,” as long as they are not Israelis. Last week they spoke with their families.

Khat drug balls

In the videos distributed by the kidnappers, they can be seen getting along with the rebels, singing and smiling. In one of them, one of the crew members is seen with a huge ball of khat herba drug local, in the cheek. She records with her cell phone while a Yemeni man next to her plays a song on the oud, a type of Yemeni guitar.

“Qat (or khat) is a leaf that It should be consumed fresh and causes a roller coaster of sensations.: first of euphoria and creativity, followed by decay and introspection,” explains diplomat Javier Puga in the book on Yemen Happy Arabia. The drug plays a transcendental function in Yemeni society and economy and would be the equivalent “to alcohol in the West, to opium in colonial China or shisha in other Arab countries,” he writes. “Starting at twelve noon, after prayer -salat al-zhur-, men rush towards the markets for this amphetamine plant that is spread throughout the city” of Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.

“Up to 2,000 visitors daily”

Boat Galaxy Leader, flying the Panamanian flag but linked to an Israeli businessman, according to the kidnappers, is moored off the coast of the Yemeni port of Al Salif. Hundreds of locals come there, get on small boats and go to see the Houthi rebels’ big game. They receive “up to 2,000 visitors” every day, one of the kidnappers told the EFE agency one of the Galaxy Leader guards during a tour prepared for the international press on December 8.

When they board the cargo ship, visiting Yemenis chant against Israel and the United States or dance on the deck, wearing the jambia, the iconic Yemeni knife, on their belts. Hatred of the Jewish State of Israel is embedded in the political thinking of these Shiite Muslim rebels (one of the two main branches of Islam, along with the Sunni). In fact, the Houthis’ slogan is: “God is the greatest, death to America, death to Israel, curse to the Jews and victory to Islam.”

The Houthis have been attacking ships owned by Israeli companies since the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Stripwhich has already caused the death of more than 20,000 people under bombs.

Yemen, south of Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Peninsula, is the poorest country in the Middle East and has been experiencing a civil war since 2014, which has caused more than a quarter of a million deaths. dead. The Houthis control the western half of the country, and from there they have the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through which all ships that cross the Suez Canal must pass to carry or bring goods or fuel from Asia to Europe, or vice versa.

Iranian missile adaptations

They use homemade adaptations of Iranian and Chinese missiles and drones. With this, they have managed to put global trade by sea in check. The main shipping companies, such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd and the oil company BP, They have announced that they are stopping taking that route and will use the one that borders Africa, which is much longer and more expensive. This is already having an impact on fuel prices, which is precisely the strategy of the Yemeni rebels and, for some analysts, of Iran, which would be behind the plan.

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To respond to the threat, the United States has formed an international coalition that will bring warships to the area. In the Operation Prosperity Guardian American, British, Canadian, French or Italian ships will participate. At first, the Pentagon assured that Spaniards would also be involved, but the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has warned that this is yet to be finalized and that Spain will not participate unless it is under an EU or NATO mission. Other countries, such as Germany, are still studying their possible participation.

Meanwhile, the global shipping industry are experiencing moments of tension, because they have not been informed of the alliance’s intentions. The Red Sea is one of the most important shipping routes in the world: it carries around 14% of global maritime trade. A prolonged paralysis would add more inflation to the rise in prices already caused by the war in Ukraine.



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