Chinese cruisers were left stranded in South Korea over the weekend, when their ship was banned from leaving the southern resort island, Jeju.

The ship was carrying 1,659 passengers and 650 crew on a six-day sailing, which departed China’s northeastern port, Tianjin on Friday to sail around the Korean peninsula before returning to China.

However, a Jeju district court determined the ship would not be allowed to leave after a seizure request was submitted by Hong Kong’s Shahang Shipping over a legal dispute, a statement from the ship’s operators, HNA Group read.

The ship would not provide further detail on the legal issue, but confirmed its passengers were placed on emergency flights to Beijing on Sunday, AFP reported.

The company statement said: “After the cruise was detained, we immediately set up emergency response teams, and activated contingency plans.”

HNA Group also assured it would compensate passengers for the cancellation.

Meanwhile, a $2,7 million deposit has been paid to the Jeju court to release the ship.