After operating for more than 40 years, the iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Hong Kong was towed away from its usual spot last week, much to the dismay of locals and visitors who had fond memories of being there.
Most would expect the iconic vessel to find a new home elsewhere eventually.
But in a strange turn of events, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant capsized in the South China Sea on Sunday (19 Jun) after encountering “adverse conditions”. It was en route to an undisclosed location.
Source: Bob Gardner on Flickr
To make matters worse, the deep water level at the scene made salvage works more challenging.
On Monday (20 Jun) night, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises – the restaurant’s parent company – issued a statement announcing the unexpected incident.
Citing the statement, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the ship was passing Xisha Islands in the South China Sea when it encountered “adverse conditions”.
Source: Wikipedia
Water gradually seeped into the ship, causing it to tip.
The towing company attempted to rescue the vessel, but their efforts turned out to be in vain as the ship capsized on Sunday (19 Jun).
Thankfully, no crew members were injured.
According to BBC, the water depth at the scene is over 1,000 metres deep, making it “extremely difficult” to carry out salvage works.
The parent company also shared that they were saddened by the incident and are getting more details from the towing company.
Before being towed away, the restaurant’s parent company had reportedly hired marine engineers to inspect the vessel and obtained all relevant approvals.
The restaurant was on its way to an undisclosed location to await a new operator when the incident occurred.
For those who’ve visited or seen the restaurants in films since they were young, the towing and subsequent capsizing of the ship must feel like the end of an era.
Given its iconic status, we hope the parent company will somehow overcome the odds and salvage the vessel.
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Featured image adapted from mbell1975 on Flickr
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