Local sources said that the Houthi group turned the Israeli-linked ship Galaxy Leader into a popular shrine for a fee not exceeding half a dollar per visitor to showcase the victories of its naval forces and gain popular support as a force that fights Israel and supports the Palestinians in Gaza.
Video footage on social media shows visitors expressing their impressions about the ship, and they even held comedy and folk dancing events.
What is striking is that the Houthis not only turned the ship into a place for chewing Qat, but also took photos with its crew and chanted their slogan, “Death to America, Death to Israel”. One of the ship’s crew members appeared chanting the Houthi slogan.
Sheba Intelligence obtained recent satellite images of the ship Galaxy Leader, which the Houthis hijacked on November 19.
Satellite images show the ship located 1.3 km away from the Yemeni coast. It also appears that three Houthi boats were patrolling near the ship on November 26, and the situation remained unchanged until December 1, 2023.
A local official told Sheba Intelligence that the Houthi group built a military zone in Al-Salif, noting that this area witnessed an intense military presence of Houthi forces since early this year.
On November 19, the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader and directed it to an area between “Al-Salif” and Kamaran Island.
A distance of 1,300 meters separates Galaxy Leader from the coast of Yemen in Al-Salif District.
Figure 2: Galaxy Leader on 01-12-2023
Galaxy Leader on 11-26-2023 and three Houthi boats around it
