An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spy ship is suspected of overseeing the seizure of a cargo vessel in the Red Sea by Houthi forces.
The Galaxy Leader car carrier sailed past the Behshad, which has been positioned in the area for two years, before it was boarded by the Yemeni rebels, experts have confirmed to The National.
Footage released by the Iran-backed Houthis shows a helicopter swooping on to the deck of the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea and armed men disembarking then storming the bridge.
The Galaxy Leader is operated by the Japanese company NYK line but belongs to Ray Car Carriers, registered in Britain's Isle of Man but owned by Israeli billionaire shipping mogul Abraham “Rami” Ungar.
The vessel was captured despite having its AIS transponder – which relays its position to other maritime traffic – turned off, leading to suspicion its location had been disclosed to the Houthis by the Iranian spy ship.
United Against Nuclear Iran's Claire Jungman, who tracks Iranian vessels for the US-based campaigners, said the Behshad has been in the Red Sea since 2021 when it replaced a previous vessel called the Saviz.
“Both vessels [the Behshad and the Saviz] were cargo vessels converted to spy ships for Iran’s [Islamic] Revolutionary Guard Corps,” she told The National.
“The spy ships are widely known also to help the Houthis in Yemen. It is very possible that the Behshad could have played a role in the hijacking, given its presence and activities in the region.”
Maritime expert Salvatore Mercogliano, who also tracked the Galaxy Leader’s movements, told The National the timing of the seizure is “suspicious” given it had turned off its AIS transponder after passing Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“It would have sailed close to the Iranian vessel and it could have identified the ship and relayed the information to the forces in Yemen,” said Dr Mercogliano, who is an adjunct professor at the US Merchant Marine Academy.
Western intelligence sources have said the hijacking was ordered by the IRGC Quds Force commander Brig Gen Abdolreza Shahlaei, The Times reported.
He has commanded a unit supplying the Houthis in Yemen and remains in charge of liaison with the rebels.
Tobias Borck, senior research fellow for Middle East Security Studies, told The National the hijacking was "a classic action of one of these groups that is so closely aligned with Iran".
"We won't know the extent of Iran's involvement and that's on purpose, as it fits the general Iranian modus operandi," he said. "Iran works purposely with these groups to create a veneer of deniability, albeit a relatively thin one."
The Houthis, who support Hamas in the continuing Israel-Gaza war, seized the Galaxy Leader and took 25 hostages of various nationalities, but no Israelis, on Sunday.
While it is not the first time Houthis have attacked civilian vessels in the area, the seizure of a ship as large as the Galaxy Leader is a first for the group.
Analysts say the attack could trigger a wider escalation in the Red Sea, an important international shipping route that ends in the Bab Al Mandeb, a strait through which about 6 million barrels of oil a day travels.
Iran has launched sporadic attacks on ships since 2018, when US president at the time Donald Trump launched his “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Tehran.
In June 2021, the US blamed Iran for attacking Mercer Street, a ship also linked to an Israeli business. A British and a Romanian sailor were killed in the assault.
Iran this year seized two oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf, including the Niovi.
The Houthis are known to possess a small number of helicopters, ageing Soviet-era MI-17s captured from the Yemeni government during their rebellion, but these have rarely been used in operations.
Ms Jungman said the latest incident, “especially given its targeting of a vessel linked to Israeli interests, suggests a more assertive stance by the Houthis, reflecting Iran's influence or strategic objectives”.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
