The Port of Kaohsiung is planning to scrap two boats that once housed the Palace on the Sea — a record-breaking floating restaurant that closed briefly after its opening 22 years ago, the port operator said on Thursday.
The Kaohsiung branch of Taiwan International Ports Corp said the dilapidated boats pose a risk to ships navigating the harbor.
The restaurant — which offered guest services on the larger boat while the smaller one housed the kitchen, dubbed The Imperial Kitchen of the Sea — opened at Wharf No. 12 in 2000, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Port of Kaohsiung
Setting up a restaurant on the ships, which are 56m and 26m long, cost NT$800 million (US$26.91 million at the current exchange rate), it said.
The restaurant abruptly closed after less than a year, citing a revenue shortfall and conflicts within the management, the port operator said.
After filing bankruptcy, the boats remained anchored in the harbor, where they incurred NT$30 million in additional debts due to unpaid berthing fees and other expenses, it said.
The boats were in 2013 moved within the harbor to make room for a yellow duck sculpture, it said.
After multiple attempts to auction the vessels were unsuccessful, the port operator said it bought them for NT$13 million so that it could remove them.
Before the purchase, port officials assessed the boats’ scrap value, it said, adding that it would use the proceeds from scrapping them to partly cover losses it incurred from acquiring the boats.
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