Sad fate for Jumbo Restaurant stranded on reef with broken hull

Run aground on a reef with a broken hull is the fate of the once iconic Jumbo floating restaurant.

According to the Hainan Maritime Bureau, the 80-meter-long boat that once housed a restaurant capable of seating 2,000 diners is stranded on a reef in the South China Sea with its broken hull in a deteriorated state.

The iconic ship restaurant capsized near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea en route to Cambodia on June 19.

The local Sansha Maritime Bureau followed up on the capsizing incident, with the provincial Hainan Maritime Bureau reporting that the ship was overturned and its superstructure has been disintegrated since the time of the sinking.

“We will urge crew members of the tugboat company to keep towing Jumbo as soon as possible,” said the bureau, “since some parts of the bottom of the ship will emerge from the water when the water level becomes lower.” 

With a history of 46 years, the restaurant left Hong Kong for a new home in June since the owner could not find a new operator and there was no berth to moor the ship, according to Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises, the parent company of Jumbo restaurant.

Even though it was not wholly sunk, said the restaurant owner, there was no hope for Jumbo to be salvaged.