A Chinese company Chong Lot Travel Agency bought the Soviet-made Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier VARYAG (Viking), lacking an engine and a rudder, from Ukraine for US$20 million in 1998, and wanted to tow it to Macau from the Black Sea and convert it into a floating casino.
Read MoreChinese investors saw the Varyag as a giant pleasure craft. To some military analysts, it was an aircraft carrier which would weight 67,000-tonnes when completed. For many observers, it was a rusted heap of junk.
Read MoreIn 1995, Macau's casino magnate Stanley Ho posed for a photograph on the doorstep of the White House with Wong Sing-wa which had a partnership with Chen Kai Kit. Chen was one of the key officials of Chong Lot Travel Agency and had good connections in Beijing.
In June 2000 tug SUHAILI with the carrier in tow, sailed from Nikolayev for what was estimated to be a 60-day routine voyage via the Suez Canal.