Dubai company evacuates hundreds from Sudan to Jeddah on speed boats and ferries

International SOS says it transported workers from crisis-stricken country to Saudi Arabia

Evacuees from Sudan arrive in Jeddah as nations scramble to move thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea since the fighting started on April 15. AFP

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As countries scramble to evacuate their citizens from Sudan by air, thousands are looking to flee the violence by water to Saudi Arabia via the Red Sea.

Many private companies that have operations in Sudan have deployed speedboats and ferries to evacuate their staff from Port Sudan to Jeddah and later fly them to the UAE and other destinations.

A security and risk management company based in Dubai said it has evacuated hundreds of people from Port Sudan to Jeddah in ferries since clashes broke out between the army and a paramilitary force on April 15.

“We have evacuated around 300 people, including UAE residents, by boat to Jeddah so far,” Sebastien Bedu, GCC general manager for International SOS, told The National.

The company, which has previous experience operating in conflict zones including in Ukraine, has over 30 UAE-based firms among its clientele that operate worldwide in sectors including finance, tech, energy and retail.

The armed conflict, now running into the third week, has plunged Africa’s third-largest nation into a brutal civil war that has killed hundreds of people and displaced several thousand.

People are fleeing the capital Khartoum where street-to-street fighting and widespread looting have turned the country into a war zone.

The UN said the violence in Sudan has forced 100,000 people to flee across the border.

The city of Port Sudan, on the eastern Red Sea coast, has turned into an evacuation hub with thousands desperately waiting to board ferries or planes leaving for Jeddah.

Many are walking hundreds of kilometres to Sudan’s borders.

According to Egyptian authorities, 40,000 Sudanese nationals have crossed into the country since the beginning of the conflict.

Trapped in houses

With Sudanese airspace remaining closed for civil aviation, Mr Bedu said his team on the ground is exploring different maritime evacuation options.

“For now, we are concentrating on scheduled ferries and private maritime vessel hiring but we are also working on options for air evacuation if and when the airspace becomes operational in Sudan,” he said.

Most of the people they were assisting are trapped in locations where the most intense fighting is taking place.

“As a result, many found themselves having to remain in their accommodation or offices for days with no access to essentials such as food and water while experiencing physical and emotional exhaustion,” said Mr Bedu.

A round-the-clock crisis response team based in Dubai is co-ordinating risk assessment and support operations while their team and partners on the ground are arranging ferries, road convoy evacuation, safe accommodation options as well as medical and logistics assistance in bordering countries.

He said that due to the volatile situation in Sudan, many of the evacuees also needed medical assistance.

“We have a vast team of dedicated operational, medical and security experts working 24/7 on the crisis response,” Mr Bedu said.

“This team constantly reviews and evaluates options for executing supply drops and options for secure accommodation.”

Explaining the challenges of operating during a full-blown civil war, Mr Bedu said continuing hostilities — even during the ceasefires — and a deteriorating humanitarian situation are “severely impacting” their operations and capabilities to provide on-the-ground support.

“We are experiencing challenges with securing accommodation, obtaining fuel, as well as other logistical issues which require significant efforts to overcome,” he said.

Many countries are also conducting evacuation missions by sea to transfer their citizens to safety.

The Indian Navy has deployed two warships — INS Sumedra and INS Teg — to ferry its citizens across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah.

INS Sumedra departed Port Sudan with 300 passengers to Jeddah three days ago, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said. On April 29, another batch of 288 passengers left Jeddah on board INS Teg.

According to marinetraffic.com, which gives real-time data on ship movement, there are eight ships currently docked in Port Sudan, including commercial ferries Amanah and Magarsam.

Evacuees who landed by air in Abu Dhabi spoke this week of the horrors they witnessed in Sudan as they escaped the fighting.

“We travelled 30 hours to reach Port Sudan from Khartoum and we were lucky to get the UAE help to board an evacuation plane,” Muaz Mohammed, a Sudanese national, told The National.

“But many, including my friends, are waiting at the port to get a ferry to Jeddah.”

Evacuees from Sudan arrive in Abu Dhabi - in pictures