Photos: Hijacked Car Carrier Galaxy Leader Has Partially Sunk
When Houthi rebels captured the car carrier Galaxy Leader in 2023, the vessel and crew were taken to a sheltered bay in Yemen, where they were detained and forced to await the end of hostilities in the Red Sea. The crew were finally released in January 2025, but the ship was not - and by its appearance in newly-released photos, it might never leave.
Galaxy Leader was hijacked by armed militants aboard a Houthi-operated helicopter on November 19, 2023. The orchestrated, carefully-filmed boarding was successful, and the terrorist group took control of the ship. The car carrier was diverted to Hodeidah, then relocated to Al Salif, both controlled by Houthi separatists. On arrival off Al Salif, Galaxy Leader became a popular tourist attraction, and at times a festival-like atmosphere persisted on board, with visitors freely coming and going via small launches.
The Galaxy Leader was operated by Isle of Man-based Ray Car Carriers, a firm with ownership ties to an Israeli shipping industry titan. At the time, Houthi leaders claimed that they were focusing their attacks on Israel-linked tonnage in protest of the military operation in Gaza.
The crew of Galaxy Leader were finally released in 2025, but the ship stayed on, and the Israeli government claimed that Houthi forces began using it as an observation post to track shipping in the Red Sea. The Israeli Air Force classified it as "terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime" and bombarded it on July 6, 2025. Houthi sources also claimed two American air strikes on the vessel several months earlier, though these remain unconfirmed.
IAF fighter jets strike & dismantle terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime at the port of Ras Isa, Yemen. Among the terror targets struck was the merchant ship Galaxy Leader, which was seized by the Houthi regime in November 2023.
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) July 7, 2025
Watch: pic.twitter.com/Vqu4qUCnEV
New imagery from As Salif suggests that Galaxy Leader would be difficult to remove. Damage from the airstrikes is evident at the forecastle, and the ship has partially sunk at the stern, leaving the bow high and dry. Wreck removal by refloating the ship or demolishing her in place would require resources not currently available in war-torn Yemen.
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Remember November 19, 2023 when the Houthis seized the MV Galaxy Leader in a helicopter assault that triggered the decline in global shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb.
We are still seeing the diversion of 25% of ships from the region, including over 50% of car carriers and… pic.twitter.com/M7XsvvqC9s
— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) ???????????????????? (@mercoglianos) April 30, 2026
A recent video shows the hijacked Galaxy Leader by the Houthis in the Red Sea on November 19, 2023, grounded at the Ras Issa oil export terminal, with the stern buried in the beach sand while the bow is raised at a steep and unstable angle. Over the years it become a tourist… https://t.co/e8Ye2M0fhCpic.twitter.com/yKp4TG7Pus
— Basha ???? (@BashaReport) April 29, 2026
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