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 on Monday. The Jumbo Floating Restaurant – also known as the Jumbo Kingdom – was towed out of town last week after closing during a pandemic. The ship was hit by 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 vast 260-foot-long vessel has spent nearly half a century in Hong Kong waters, hosting “many international officials and celebrities,” including Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise, according to the Jumbo Kingdom website. Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises had previously stated that it could not afford the maintenance costs – with millions of dollars being spent on inspections and repairs to meet licensing requirements. The Hong Kong government, led by CEO Carrie Lam, has rejected calls for temporary financial relief. Coronavirus connects Hong Kong even closer to Beijing as the mainland takes the lead in tackling the pandemic “We have made it clear that the government has no plans to invest in the operation of the restaurant, as we are not good at managing such venues,” Lam said. Even before the pandemic, the restaurant, which served Cantonese food, was accumulating debts. But Hong Kong’s early move to ban tourists hit Jumbo Kingdom and other attractions hard. Earlier this month, before being towed, the restaurant’s 130-foot kitchen flotilla broke from the back of the boat and sank at Hong Kong’s Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter. It was not clear exactly where Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises planned 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.
