site.btaBulgarian Authorities Have Contacted Families of Hijacked Ship with Bulgarian Crew Members

The Bulgarian authorities have contacted the families of the Bulgarian crew members of a ship that was hijacked in the Red Sea, Interior Ministry Secretary General Zhivko Kotsev told the press Monday. He confirmed that the captain and the first mate on the Galaxy Leader are Bulgarians.

"Nobody has sought contact us to this moment," said Kotsev.

The families has the full information about the hijacking. They were offered psychological support, said the Interior Ministry Secretary General. 

Israeli media reported Sunday that the British ship with 25 crew members including Bulgarians had been hijacked in the Red Sea "on an Iranian whim by the Houthi militia in Yemen". The vessel leased out to a Japanese company also had crew from Ukraine, Mexico and the Philippines. Reuters reported that a spokesperson for the Houthis, Yahya Saria, posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday morning that any vessel owned or operated by an Israeli company will be targeted. Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the Israeli government as denying that Galaxy Leader is an Israeli vessel. AFP quoted a representative of the Houthis as saying that the vessel has been taken to the port of As-Salif, north of the city of Al-Hudaydah.