Al-Riyadh, which is one of the two modern ships donated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to Egypt, returned to Yanbu on Sunday three hours after it sailed.
Informed sources at Yanbu port told Arab News that the ship, which was on a regular trip, returned to the Saudi port due to bad weather. Later when the weather cleared, the ship left for Safaga, the sources said.
Authorities in Yanbu had earlier contacted the ship’s captain to find out about the condition of passengers as well as of the ship.
This is the second time Al-Riyadh has had a problem during a regular trip between Yanbu and Safaga.
At the end of last month, the ship was forced to change its destination to a southern Egyptian port after it encountered bad weather.
The ship at that time was carrying 624 passengers including a large number of pilgrims.
It arrived at its original destination of Safaga after a 21-hour journey which should have taken only six. 
Employees working on the two ships — Al-Riyadh and  Al-Qahira (Cairo) — said they were equipped with advanced facilities and equipment in order to deal with difficult weather conditions.