Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises, the parent company of Hong Kong’s Jumbo Floating Restaurant, has said that it would not receive any insurance payout for the loss of the vessel.
“The vessel is covered by a ‘Protection and Indemnity Cover for Third Parties Liability’ in accordance with maritime regulations. This insurance covers third party losses, not losses to the company,” said Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises.
The restaurant capsized near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Jun 19th after it “encountered adverse conditions” and began to take on water, according to the company.
The once-iconic tourist attraction, which had been losing money for year, was finally killed off by the pandemic – shuttering its doors for the last time in March 2020.
The company said that “the Company hired professional marine engineers to inspect the hull and hoardings and obtained approval from the authorities before the vessel departed from Hong Kong. The tug company that towed the vessel out of Hong Kong was hired by a licensed third-party broker. The towing method was in compliance with international
maritime regulations and customary practices.”
Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said in its original statement on June 20th that the vessel had “capsized”, but added that “the water depth at the scene is over 1,000m, making it extremely difficult to carry out salvage works”, which would have seemed to indicate
a sinking. But a few days later the company emphasized that the vessel had “capsized”,
not “sank”. On June 26th it insisted that it had not been inconsistent in its reports. “Our statement on June 20th stated that water had entered into the hull of the vessel, and the vessel began to tip when passing the Xisha Islands in the South China Seas,” (using the Chinese name for the Paracels). “Despite the efforts of the tugboat responsible to
rescue the vessel, it capsized. This is consistent with our report to the Marine Department on June 23rd, which stated that the vessel capsized due to adverse conditions.” The company also said that the tugboat remains “near the vessel in the Xisha Islands” to help ensure the safety of the waterway.
The 76-metres-long Jumbo Floating Restaurant was opened in 1976 by the late casino tycoon Stanley Ho, costing more than US$3.5m to build. It was designed like a Chinese imperial palace and could seat 2,300 diners.
