A once famous landmark in Hong Kong bids goodbye amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tugboats tow the Chinese imperial-style Jumbo Floating Restaurant out of a typhoon shelter in Aberdeen on June 14, 2022 in Hong Kong, China. The iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Hong Kong is set to depart the city, amid a lack of funds to maintain the restaurant following months of COVID-19 restrictions.
Floating Restaurant
A once-famous but now-defunct Hong Kong tourist attraction and landmark has sunk just days after being towed away from the port where it had functioned for nearly 50 years, as per a report by BBC.
The Jumbo restaurant capsized in the South China Sea while en route to an unspecified site, according to its parent company, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises.
"Until Saturday afternoon, when passing Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, the vessel encountered adverse conditions which water soon entered before it began to tip," CNA reported, citing the company.
"Despite the efforts of the towing company responsible for the trip to rescue the vessel, unfortunately it capsized on Sunday."
Fortunately, the company noted that there were no crew members wounded.
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Jumbo, Hong Kong's Iconic Floating Restaurant, Sinks
The ship was supposed to stay in a secret place while looking for a new operator.
However, it sank in the Paracel Islands on Sunday after adverse weather caused it to take on water, according to Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises.
The water depth at the area is almost 1,000 meters, making salvage operations exceedingly challenging, it continued.
Before the voyage, marine engineers were engaged to evaluate the floating restaurant, and "all necessary approvals" were secured, said the owners.
Legacy of Jumbo Restaurant
BBC noted that over the years, it is estimated that more than 3 million people have dined in this iconic floating restaurant, including the Queen, Tom Cruise, and Richard Branson.
It had been featured in various films, including one starring James Bond, but the pandemic killed the business as diners turned away.
The Pandemic Has Affected the Business
As the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in March 2020, the restaurant has closed. It is worth noting that the pandemic was the final straw for the restaurant, which had been struggling financially for years.
Melco International Development, the company's operator, stated last month that it had not been profitable since 2013 and was losing a lot of money, as per BBC report.
Aljazeera mentioned that it had lost more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.7 million) in total. It was still costing millions of dollars in annual maintenance expenses, and a dozen businesses had turned down an opportunity to take it over for free.
Lawmakers Asked the Government To Save the Floating Restaurant
On Wednesday, seven lawmakers, including Reverend Peter Koon, Yiu Pak-leung of the tourism sector, and Kenneth Fok of the cultural sector, launched a petition demanding the government to develop a revitalization plan for the iconic landmark, according to the report of Hong Kong Free Press.
On Monday, the Democratic Party released a statement urging the government to take action. Maintenance costs are likely to be the biggest concern for a potential new operator, said the party's chairman Lo Kin-hei. He believes that government subsidies could encourage additional organizations or groups to contribute to the preservation of the historic landmark.
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