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One of Hong Kong’s most famous landmarks — a large floating restaurant known for its lavish banquet halls and neon lights — capsized in the South China Sea, its parent company said on Monday.
The Jumbo Floating Restaurant – also known as Jumbo Kingdom – was towed out of town last week after being closed during the pandemic. The ship encountered bad weather on Sunday and capsized near the Paracel Islands, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said in a statement, adding that no crew members were injured.
The sprawling, 260-foot boat has spent nearly half a century cruising Hong Kong’s waters, playing host to “numerous international dignitaries and celebrities,” including Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise, according to the Jumbo Kingdom website.
Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises previously said it couldn’t afford the maintenance costs — with millions of dollars being spent on inspections and repairs to meet licensing requirements. Hong Kong’s government, under Chief Executive Carrie Lam, has rejected calls to offer 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 running such premises,” Lam said.
Even before the pandemic, the restaurant, which served Cantonese dishes, had accumulated debts. But Hong Kong’s early move to ban tourists hit Jumbo Kingdom and other attractions hard.
Earlier this month, before it was towed, the restaurant’s 130-foot kitchen flotilla broke off the boat’s stern and sank at the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter in Hong Kong.
It was unclear exactly where Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises intended to take the restaurant before it sank. A company spokesman told the South China Morning Post that the ship was being towed somewhere in Southeast Asia.