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»Jumbo Kingdom«: Tugboats towed the restaurant ship from Hong Kong to sea on June 14
Photo: Kin Cheung/AP
It was one of the most well-known tourist attractions in the Hong Kong port of Aberdeen: three stories high and with room for hundreds of guests, the restaurant ship »Jumbo Kingdom« was the largest of its kind. According to its owners, the imposing vessel has now sunk.
As reported by the "Guardian" among others, it capsized during a transfer trip to a shipyard.
The restaurant ship had already been pulled by tugboats from the well-protected port of the metropolis on June 14th.
However, according to the newspaper, the ship ran into heavy weather near the Paracel Islands.
"The water is more than a thousand meters deep there, which is why salvage work is extremely difficult to carry out," the "Guardian" quoted from a statement from the operator Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises.
Crew members were not injured.
The operators said they were "deeply saddened by the accident".
The floating restaurant had been in Aberdeen Harbor for a total of 46 years.
With its traditional Chinese style, the large bar once opened by a casino magnate has become a tourist magnet.
According to CNN, the restaurant ship also included a smaller restaurant boat, a barge for the kitchen and eight ferries to bring visitors on board.
Over the years, »Jumbo Kingdom« has served as a film set several times.
According to reports, scenes for the Jackie Chan film "The Protector" and for the James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun" were shot on board.
Apparently financial difficulties due to the pandemic
According to the Guardian, the corona pandemic had hit the restaurant hard.
It had closed in 2020 and laid off all of its employees.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the ship is said to have accumulated a mountain of debt equivalent to around twelve million euros due to ongoing inspection and maintenance work.
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