site.btaCrew of Galaxy Leader Released by Yemen's Houthis, Government Airplane Sent to Bring Them Home

The two Bulgarian crew members of the hijacked Galaxy Leader have been released, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported, as quoted by Reuters, that Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have released the ship's crew more than a year after they seized the Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast. According to the news report, the crew were handed to Oman "in coordination" with the three-day-old ceasefire in Gaza's war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry also reported that the government airplane was sent to bring home the two Bulgarian crew members by order of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

Zhelyazkov told journalists that everything that needs to be done by the Bulgarian state is being done. The plane will pick the Bulgarian crew members up from Oman, he specified.

Bulgarian MEP Elena Yoncheva, who was part of the diplomatic efforts to release the crew, wrote on Facebook that the two Bulgarian crew members, Captain Lyubomir Chanev and First Officer Danail Veselinov, are on their way to Muscat, Oman, aboard a special Oman Air flight, as confirmed to her by Yemeni authorities. She has been in Oman for three days, where a delegation led by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgi Georgiev is expected to arrive on Wednesday evening. "We will make a joint statement, where we will provide more details," Yoncheva added. "The sailors had the tremendous courage to be imprisoned for more than a year and I think they withstood that ordeal", she said about the sailors' condition.

"The release of the two Bulgarian sailors was a high-stakes issue for us and a message to all Bulgarians that they will not be abandoned wherever they are in the world," Yoncheva said when contacted for comment. "This was a high-stakes issue for all of us - their release, but also a strong message to all Bulgarian citizens that they will never be abandoned when they are in trouble anywhere in the world, regardless of the political situation", she stressed. "We should be proud that we are Bulgarians and that our country Bulgaria is fighting for our dignity and life", she added.

The Galaxy Leader was hijacked by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen in November 2023. The British-owned, Japanese-operated and Bahamas-flagged ship had a crew of 25 from several countries, including two Bulgarian citizens. Efforts followed to have the crew members released. On September 19, 2024, Bulgaria MEP Yoncheva visited Yemen for a meeting with the Bulgarian hostages. On November 4, she said on Facebook that there was a very strong chance for the two sailors to go home, but an obstacle emerged at the last moment. Yoncheva noted that she was still working for their release as a humanitarian mission of hers, part of her responsibilities as a member of the European Parliament, a journalist and a Bulgarian citizen who can help fellow Bulgarians in distress.