“Five ships operating between the Egyptian ports of Safaga and Suez and Saudi ports of Jeddah and Dhiba were found to be unseaworthy. They are Mawaddah, Mahabbah and Ejmah2, which are 38 years old, and Masarrah and Shahrazad, both 35 years old,” the source told Arab News on Wednesday.

A large number of pilgrims and other passengers during the Haj, Umrah and vacation seasons depend on ferry ships to travel between the Kingdom and Egypt. “Safety officials make regular spot checks on vessels arriving in Kingdom’s ports to guarantee the safety of passengers. Penalties against violators include cancelation of their licenses that enable them to visit Saudi ports. Egyptian regulations also do not allow ships older than 30 years to operate,” he said. “However, the five ships have been carrying passengers during the peak seasons.” The source added that the owners of the five ships still used them to ferry people between the two countries. Saudi security officials had decommissioned several old ferries after discovering that they were violating safety regulations, he said. However, many of them returned to service after producing safety certificates once they had undergone repairs. “The five ships, whose safety certificates had expired, have made necessary repairs and now account for over 30 percent of the passengers that travel by sea between the two countries,” said Ahmad Al-Owaify, a travel agent who owns the Zahrah Al-Zarqa Travel and Tours Agency, which had been taking bookings for the ferries.

Over 1,000 passengers on Ejmah2 had to be rescued after the ship started sinking when traveling between Dhiba and Safaga a few months ago. In 2006, 1,033 passengers all drowned when Al-Salam98 sunk.