The crew of tug Jaewon 9 (IMO 8806228) which had towed Hong Kong’s famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant out of Hong Kong, only for the restaurant to capsize while at sea,
has itself got into trouble. The tug was reported as under confinement at Sanya port, Hainan Island, southern China – victims of China’s ongoing zero-Covid policy.
The seven crew members, reportedly all South Koreans, arrived at Hainan Island nearly a month ago, on June 30th, and served a week of quarantine. The group was then questioned on July 6th and 7th by officials from the mainland’s Maritime Safety Administration, They have been confined to their vessel ever since. The crew was reported to be running out of food. Hong Kong’s marine authority said that it had not received any request for help from the owner of the Jumbo owner, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises. The precise state of the capsized vessel was still unknown.
The Jumbo was towed out of Hong Kong in June, only to capsize a few days later near the
Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. It was reported to be headed for Cambodia.
Yoon Ju-dong, a senior official of the company operating the tugboat, said that “after being
towed for four or five days, [the floating restaurant] started tilting gradually before she capsized suddenly. If she had any structural problems, she would have gone down much earlier” Yoon declined to identify the company he represented, stating only that it borrowed the tugboat from its registered owner S&P Marine Co in Busan, South Korea, for the tow.
Jumbo’s owner, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises, reported the capsizing on the following Monday after the vessel departed Hong Kong (IMN,June 28th 2022).
1988-built, South Korea-flagged, 498 gt Jaewon 9 is owned and managed by S&P Marine Co Ltd of Busan, South Korea. No AIS since June 14th.
