Floating restaurant Jumbo sinks

The Jumbo restaurant, a famous Hong Kong Floating restaurant that closed in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, capsized on Sunday near the Paracel Islands, in the South China Sea days after it was towed away from the harbour where it operated for nearly 50 years. The vessel encountered adverse conditions and began to take water, and as the water depth at the scene is over 1, 000 meters, making it is extremely difficult to carry out salvage works. Operator Melco International Development said last month the business had not been profitable since 2013 and was making large losses. Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said it was “very saddened by the incident” but no crew members were injured. More than three million guests are believed to have eaten its Cantonese cuisine over the years including the Queen, Tom Cruise, and Richard Branson, and also featured in several films including a Bond movie. Marine engineers had been hired to inspect the floating restaurant before the trip and all relevant approvals have been obtained according to the owner. The Vessel was due to stay at an undisclosed location while it awaited a new operator.