The Yemeni Houthi have permitted the crew of the hijacked ship Galaxy Leader in the Gulf of Aden to contact their families, said the movement’s spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports.

• Yemeni separatists seize ship with Bulgarians on board
• The hijacked ship with two Bulgarians onboard is in a Yemeni port
  

The Bulgarians on board are the captain and the first mate. In a letter to the prime minister and the foreign minister, Captain Dimitar Dimitrov, President of the Confederation of European Shipmasters Associations (CESMA) calls for action at a national level regarding the hijacked ship, for freeing the hostages. “There is no other way, except the political and diplomatic path, because companies cannot influence a whole country and government. Based on the fact there are citizens of two European countries on board – Bulgaria and Romania – I think steps can be taken through the EU and NATO, which are the most serious organizations operating in the region including with military force,” Captain Dimitrov said in an interview with the BNR’s Radio Varna.