The Proxy Wars Take to the High Seas

null By Elisabeth BrawNov. 29, 2023 6:15 pm ETWonder Land: After the massacres of Oct. 7, the burden is now on Israel to end the war in Gaza. Images: Reuters Composite: Mark KellyThe Galaxy Leader, a Bahamas-flagged cargo ship traveling in the Red Sea, was seized by armed commandos on Nov. 19. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has carried out several such seizures in recent years, but this time the captors didn’t belong to a hostile state’s military. They were Houthi rebels from Yemen, and their stunning attack introduced a new threat to global shipping: maritime terrorism.A video of the attack shows Houthi commandos leaping from a helicopter, spreading out across the carrier and taking the 25 crew members hostage. The Galaxy Leader is one of more than 105,000 merchant vessels that traverse the world’s waters. Like most of them, it is linked to several countries. It is flagged in the Bahamas, owned by a British company and managed by a Japanese firm. The crew were Eastern European, Filipino

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Elisabeth Braw

Nov. 29, 2023 6:15 pm ET

Wonder Land: After the massacres of Oct. 7, the burden is now on Israel to end the war in Gaza. Images: Reuters Composite: Mark Kelly

The Galaxy Leader, a Bahamas-flagged cargo ship traveling in the Red Sea, was seized by armed commandos on Nov. 19. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has carried out several such seizures in recent years, but this time the captors didn’t belong to a hostile state’s military. They were Houthi rebels from Yemen, and their stunning attack introduced a new threat to global shipping: maritime terrorism.

A video of the attack shows Houthi commandos leaping from a helicopter, spreading out across the carrier and taking the 25 crew members hostage. The Galaxy Leader is one of more than 105,000 merchant vessels that traverse the world’s waters. Like most of them, it is linked to several countries. It is flagged in the Bahamas, owned by a British company and managed by a Japanese firm. The crew were Eastern European, Filipino and Mexican. None of those countries have enemies in the Red Sea. But the Houthi commandos descended on the Galaxy Leader because its owner is linked to Abraham “Rami” Ungar, an Israeli billionaire. “All ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or that deal with it will become legitimate targets,” the Iran-backed Houthis announced.