Read More
Hongkongers will lose another piece of their collective memory as Jumbo Floating Restaurant started being towed away on Tuesday noon and heading to the southern waters of Hong Kong.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Two tugboats and three escort vessels were seen at around 11.30am towing the floating restaurant, and leaving the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter after 12pm. The fleet is on the way to Southeast Asia. Marine Department vessels were deployed to the scene for support.
Hoardings were being installed in the floating restaurant starting from Sunday. A spokesperson for the parent company of the restaurant, Aberdeen Catering Group, said on the same day that they had found a suitable shipyard for Jumbo but refused to say where the ship would be docked as the shipyard had requested the location remain undisclosed.
For almost half a century, the Jumbo in Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter has been a destination for families and tourists. The restaurant has suspended operations since March 2020 amid the pandemic.
The news of the restaurant leaving Hong Kong was announced on May 30 as Aberdeen Catering Group said it could not find a new operator and there was no berth to moor the ship.
The company said it had talked to about a dozen enterprises over the past year to donate the ship to them, but it ended in vain due to the high operational costs.
The iconic restaurant’s kitchen barge capsized on May 31. Its parent company cited lack of funds to maintain the restaurant’s structural integrity amid a three-month shutdown.
