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One of Hong Kong’s most famous landmarks, a large floating restaurant known for its luxurious banquet halls and neon lights, capsized in the South China Sea, its parent company said Monday.
The Jumbo Floating Restaurant, also known as Jumbo Kingdom, was towed out of the city last week after closing during the pandemic. The ship suffered adverse weather on Sunday and capsized near the Paracel Islands, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said in a statement, adding that no crew members were injured.
The 260-foot-long ship spent nearly half a century in Hong Kong waters, hosting “numerous dignitaries and international celebrities,” such as Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise, according to the Jumbo Kingdom website.
Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said earlier that the cost of maintenance could not be afforded, with millions of dollars spent on inspections and repairs to meet licensing requirements. The Hong Kong government, under executive director Carrie Lam, has rejected calls for temporary financial relief.
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“We have made it clear that the government has no plans to invest money in running the restaurant as we are not good at managing these premises,” Lam said.
Even before the pandemic, the restaurant, which served Cantonese cuisine, was accumulating debt. But Hong Kong’s first step in banning tourists severely affected Jumbo Kingdom and other attractions.
Earlier this month, before being towed, the restaurant’s 130-foot kitchen flotilla broke off at the back of the ship and sank in Hong Kong’s Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter.
It was not clear exactly where Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises planned to take the restaurant before it collapsed. A company spokesman told the South China Morning Post that the ship was being towed somewhere in Southeast Asia.