The owners of an iconic floating restaurant in Hong Kong, which made headlines around the world after reports of it sinking into the sea, showed up on Thursday to return, claiming it could not be saved, insisting that the ship “was still in the water” near Paracel Islands as calls for a full investigation into the incident increased.
Jumbo Kingdom – a 260-foot (80-meter) three-story restaurant styled after a Chinese imperial palace – encountered “adverse conditions” last weekend while being towed across the South China Sea. “The water soon came in before it started to tilt,” its owners said in a statement Monday.
“The depth of the water at the scene is over 1000 meters [3,300 feet]which makes it extremely difficult to carry out rescue work, “the statement said.
But on Thursday, pressured by authorities to reveal the circumstances surrounding the apparent wreckage, the ship’s owner, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises Limited, said in a statement that the ship and its tug were still in water near the Paracel Islands (known as the Sisha Islands in China).
A statement issued to the Hong Kong government did not say whether the ship was still afloat or detached from its tug.
The apparent change in reports stemmed from a request from the Hong Kong Maritime Department of the restaurant group to provide a written report on the incident as part of an initial investigation.
A spokesman for Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises Limited told CNN on Friday that he had always used the term “rollover” to describe the incident and had never claimed the ship had sunk.
Asked if this contradicted previous statements, the spokesman said the company was required to “report the depth of the water where (the incident) occurred” and declined to say whether that meant the ship was rescued or remained afloat.
HISTORICAL ICON
Once the largest floating restaurant in the world, Jumbo Kingdom closed its doors indefinitely in 2020, as the double blow of protests across the city and the pandemic contributed to losses of over $ 13 million.
A major tourist attraction in Hong Kong, the restaurant has provided a backdrop for a number of films, including “Enter the Dragon” starring Bruce Lee and “James Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun.” It has also hosted guest luminaries, including Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Carter and Tom Cruise.
Several proposals have been made to save the restaurant, but its high maintenance cost has deterred potential investors, with Hong Kong CEO Kari Lam also rejecting potential government assistance to save the attraction.
The boat was towed from Hong Kong on June 14 after nearly half a century of mooring in the southwestern waters of the city.
Although the owners initially declined to specify its intended location, it was later revealed by the Maritime Department that he should be taken to a shipyard in Cambodia.
News of its sinking was met with horror online, with many social media users in Hong Kong complaining about the inelegant end of one of the city’s most acclaimed historical icons.
Tourism MP Perry Yu Pak-Lung said the sinking of Jumbo Kingdom was a loss to the city’s heritage.
“Hong Kong must take this as a lesson. Government, conservationists, historians and the commercial sector must work together to protect and make good use of these [historic] sites, “he said.” We stayed too long. “
CALL FOR INVESTIGATION
Hong Kong lawmakers are now calling on the government to launch a more in-depth investigation.
“We need to know if the tug company is involved in any abuse or human error at sea when towing the Jumbo Kingdom ship,” said Tick Chi-yuen, chairman of the Third Party political party.
Stephen Lee, a professor in the Department of Logistics and Marine Research at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said it was “quite unusual” for a ship to sink simply because of bad weather, adding that maritime transport was “very safe these days” given advances in navigation. technology.
But the investigation could take years, Lee said, especially after it took place outside the city’s international jurisdiction.
The Maritime Department said in a statement Wednesday that the shipowner had hired an agency to inspect the ship and make sure it was seaworthy before it was towed.
It is unclear whether the ship was insured, potentially complicating rescue operations.
Andrew Brooker, managing director of the Hong Kong-based marine insurance company Latitude Brokers, said it was “incredibly unlikely” that the ship would be insured for loss or damage.
“I don’t like the marine insurance market [to carry the risk of] “50-year-old barges are hauled across 1,000 kilometers of open ocean during typhoon season,” he said.
Brooker added that Jumbo Kingdom owners would not be legally obliged to insure the ship outside Hong Kong waters.
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