‘Ridiculous’: company responsible for towing Hong Kong’s Jumbo Floating Restaurant dismisses allegations of foul play
- Yoon Ju-dong, senior official of company which operated tugboat escorting Jumbo out of Hong Kong, says it was ‘an accident without any foul play involved’
- Yoon rejects claims vessel might have been sunk intentionally, says towing crew are all South Koreans
The company responsible for towing Hong Kong’s ill-fated Jumbo Floating Restaurant has dismissed allegations of foul play as “ridiculous”, saying some buoyancy tanks might have been damaged by strong sea waves leading to the ship capsizing in the South China Sea.
Speaking to the Post from South Korea on Friday, Yoon Ju-dong, a senior official of a company which operated “Jaewon 9”, a tugboat escorting Jumbo out of Hong Kong, said what happened to the famed vessel was “an accident without any foul play involved”.
Jumbo left Hong Kong last week for a new home, but capsized near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea over the weekend as it was being towed en route to Cambodia.
“After being towed for four or five days, she started tilting gradually before she capsized suddenly. If she had any structural problems, she would have gone down much earlier,” Yoon said.
Yoon insisted his company not be identified, only saying that it borrowed the tugboat from its registered owner S&P Marine Co in Busan, South Korea, for the tow. He dismissed allegations that the ship might have been sunk intentionally.
“That’s ridiculous. Our crew are all South Koreans. Had the shipowner wanted to do so, why would they hire Koreans in the first place? Do you think they could have convinced us all?” he asked.
Jumbo’s owner, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises, reported the capsizing on Monday. The incident has sparked widespread concern among Hongkongers, with conspiracy theories swirling that human error was a factor.
