Captain Lyubomir Chanev and Senior Mate Danail Veselinov have been released and are expected to return to Bulgaria today. The two sailors, part of the crew of the cargo ship "Galaxy Leader," were taken hostage in the Red Sea in late November 2023.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized the Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported on Wednesday.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed ... the rebel group to end their maritime assaults that have plagued the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for months. The terrorist group began attacking ...

French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM will continue to avoid the Red Sea even though it considers the region is more stable following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, it said on Saturday.

Escorted by locals on bicycles and in cars that awaited his arrival outside his hometown in Mexico, Arturo Zacarías Meza returned home days after Houthi rebels in Yemen released him and his fellow crew members following more than a year in captivity.

“The Houthis had unlawfully detained the crew since violently seizing their vessel over a year ago. The Houthis have still not released the MV Galaxy Leader itself, which is stolen property. Houthi attacks have endangered the lives of seafarers, hindered the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and harmed economies across the region.

A Gaza ceasefire could slash shipping emissions as vessels return to shorter Red Sea routes, potentially reducing maritime fuel consumption, says INVERTO

The move by the Yemeni rebel group marks their latest effort to de-escalate their attacks following a ceasefire in Gaza.

The US branded the Houthi release of the Galaxy Leader crew as insufficient and demanded a permanent end to the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. The State Department welcomed the release of the 25-strong crew from the 5,100-ceu car carrier (built 2002) but said that the ship remained “stolen property” of the rebel group.

The ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas stretched into a fifth day on Thursday. Humanitarian aid groups are working to surge food and supplies to the war-ravaged territory as Palestinians scour through mountains of rubble looking for bodies of those killed by Israeli bombardments during the 15-month war.

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.