Arsenio Dominguez called for the release of the Galaxy Leader crew on Monday in his first meeting as secretary general of the International Maritime Organization.

Dominguez has said that the safety of seafarers would be a key priority during his four-year tenure as head of the global shipping regulator.

Iran-backed Houthi forces seized the Ray Car Carriers’ 5,100-ceu Galaxy Leader (built 2002) on 19 November in its most dramatic targeting of shipping in protest against the Israeli assault on Gaza.