A team of the international Red Cross visited a 25-member crew on board of the Galaxy Leader vessel, which was hijacked last year by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and is docked in the port city of Hodeidah— a Houthi stronghold, AP reports.

• Yemeni separatists seize ship with Bulgarians on board

• President Radev requests assistance from Iran for the release of Bulgarians in Yemen

The crew members being held are from Bulgaria, the Philippines, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico, according to the ship’s Japanese operator NYK Line, AP writes further.

The two Bulgarians are Lyubomir Chanev and Danail Vesselinov, captain and first mate of the cargo ship. In a statement last month, the government of the Philippines said that several of the 17 crew members from the Philippines had serious health problems and symptoms of malaria.