CAIRO - Defective ships owned by businessman Mamdouh Ismail, who absconded from Egypt, are back in action, working under other names and companies, a source at Port Tawfiq in Suez told Al-Shorouq newspaper. "Two month ago, officials at the Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety [EAFMS] refused to allow the Adriatica ferry to sail, insisting that it did not meet the requisite standards. Now, a Saudi Arabian businessman is operating the Adriatica, and has converted its name to Yousfi. Recently, the newly renamed ferry – the Yousfi – reached Suez, carrying Umra [lesser pilgrimage] passengers from the port of Jeddah in Saudi," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper. In 2006, Al-Salam Boccacio 98 passenger-ferry, owned by Ismail, went down about 80 kilometres (50 miles) off the Egyptian coast during an overnight journey from Duba in Saudi Arabia to Safaga. It was carrying mostly Egyptian itinerant workers, some of whom were bringing home months' if not years' worth of savings. Ismail, a former Member of Shura Council, then fled to London despite an investigation being conducted into the sinking of his 36-year-old ship Al-Salam Boccacio 98. The committee, formed by the Ministry of Transport to investigate the cause of the tragedy, concluded that Al-Salam Company for Marine Transportation, and its owner and operator Mamdouh Ismail, were ultimately responsible for the disaster in which 1,033 passengers lost their lives. The report also revealed that the Al-Salam Bocaccio 98's marine certificate, which the company had concealed, prohibited it from undertaking journeys of more than 20 nautical miles. The distance between the ports of Jeddah and Suez is 1,150 kilometres. "The EAFMS officials have disclosed that the Adriatica is not authorised to undertake long-distance journeys," the source said. He stressed that the officials at the Red Sea Ports Authority approved it sailing between these two ports under the guise of Yousfi. Last year, Egypt's Maritime Inspection Commission stopped the passenger ferry Oman – owned by the Gesr el-Arab company, which is owned by Egypt, Jordan and Iraq – from sailing from the Egyptian port of Nuweiba to the Jordanian port of Aqaba, after detecting technical faults that would impede its journey. "The Gesr el-Arab company has hired the passenger ferry Doodi, also owned by Ismail, to replace the Oman ferry," a source at the Red Sea Ports Authority told the newspaper.