Photo taken at Clifford Pier

Photo taken from my office.

The ‘Cheng Ho’, an authentic replica of an imperial Chinese junk that takes people out on a cruise to the southern islands and provides high tea during the cruise has sunk off the Clifford Pier after a fire on the afternoon of Aug 28, 2005.

There is some fuel leaking out of the 413 GRT ship polluting the immediate vicinity around the pier and the ship has been in this condition at least for 2 days when these photos of the wreckage are taken. According to the news, the salvage company will begin re-floating and clearing the ship as soon as ‘the relevant authorities complete investigations and give us the go-ahead to do so’.

It is obvious from the top photo, which is taken from the stern (if I am not wrong), that the ship has begun to list to its starboard side. I wondered if the pier is deep enough for the ship to sink all the way to the bottom.

Well, a friend commented when he saw this… this is why Cheng Ho didn’t discover America.

Aww… Too bad for the 1421 exhibition across the Marina Bay.