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”.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
