Sunday’s operation was carried out by the Saudi navy, which has sent its fleet to Sudan for more than a week to help evacuate thousands of civilians from around the world.
Before dawn, the distressed passengers lined up quietly at a dock in Port Sudan, which has so far been untouched by fighting, to board a tugboat that carried them to the 102-meter-long corvette.
As the waters of the Red Sea rocked the ship, Saudi naval and special forces hoisted the passengers – and their luggage – where they were greeted with dates, juice and Arabic coffee.
Some apparently left in a hurry, carrying only plastic bags with items of clothing, while others like Faraj managed to bring several suitcases.
Faraz had also managed to pack a large white shell and bag of hibiscus leaves, souvenirs of a pleasant visit he had made to Port Sudan as a tourist four months earlier.
Sunday’s group also included Badriyah al-Sayed, one of the relatively few Sudanese citizens who have taken part in the evacuation, aided by her husband’s home country of Oman.
In early April, the couple and their son had traveled to Sudan, hoping to spend a peaceful Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday with Sayed’s relatives, but they were soon caught up in intense urban fighting.
“Usually during Eid they distribute sweets, but this Eid they have distributed bullets,” he said.
The family’s journey to Port Sudan involved days of overland travel and, at one point, a five-hour walk on a road too difficult for vehicles.
As she set sail off Sudan’s coast on Sunday morning, Sayed told AFP she was grateful for her safety but could not shake the feeling she was “losing a country”.
“All Sudanese people are sad,” she said. “There is no house that is happy inside.”