A luxury cruise ship has toppled over while moored at a dock after a typhoon hit the coast.
Officials said the vessel dramatically listed and toppled over as spring tides fuelled by Typhoon Bavi slammed the region.
The vessel, a powerless floating hotel-style ship, began tilting at around 8.10pm local time on Tuesday (14 Jul).
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No one was on board and there are no reports of injuries after the vessel tilted sharply during the high tide.
The Mingzhu Qihao – also known as Pearl No.7 – listed heavily while docked at Yangfushan Puxi berth in Wenzhou, China.
The drama unfolded as Typhoon Bavi battered the coast, whipping up unusually high tides and heavy rainfall that slammed the dock area.
The ship, which measures 158 metres long and 30 metres wide, was built in 2012 at a cost of around £22 million (CNY 200 million).
The emergency services arrived at the scene within minutes.
A spokesman for Wenzhou Mingzhu Cruise Company said: “The idle pontoon ship ‘Mingzhu Qihao’, which was moored at the Ou River Road Yangfushan Puxi platform, tilted during a spring tide flood.
“We immediately activated the contingency plan and relevant departments quickly arrived to handle the situation.”
They added: “The exact cause is under further investigation.”
Deer District Emergency Management officials said the ship was not in operation and had no crew or passengers aboard at the time.
The ship has sat largely unused for 14 years after a string of setbacks.
Plans to turn it into a five-star floating hotel with restaurants and luxury suites never fully took off.
Earlier attempts to moor it elsewhere sparked complaints from locals over blocked views.
Technical and funding issues repeatedly delayed any official launch, as reported by Need To Know.
The dramatic tilt came as the ship was still idle at its current berth on the Ou River.
Investigations are continuing into why the giant structure suddenly shifted during the typhoon-driven tidal surge.
The incident has drawn fresh attention to the vessel’s troubled history and questions over its long-term future at the dock.
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