Dutch bridge to be dismantled for Jeff Bezos’ gigantic superyacht
An historic bridge in Rotterdam is to be temporarily dismantled to allow a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to pass.
Bezos’s gigantic, 430-million-euro ($485 million) sailing yacht with its 40m high trio of masts is too big for the iconic Koningshaven Bridge, which dates from 1878, according to NDTV.
The yacht’s builder, Oceanco, has asked the Dutch city to temporarily remove the bridge, which is known as De Hef, with the company and billionaire having offered to pay for the work.
Bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during World War II, the bridge was subsequently rebuilt and was last renovated in 2017. Marcel Walravens, who managed the renovation project, told RT that it was “not practical” to partially finish the vessel and complete construction elsewhere.
“If you carry out a big job somewhere, you want all your tools in that place. Otherwise, you have to go back and forth constantly. In addition, this is such a large project that there are hardly any locations where this work is finished. From an economic perspective and maintaining employment, the municipality considers this a very important project.”
The process will take a few weeks and is expected to happen this summer.
However, the decision to accommodate the yacht has angered some residents. RT Ton Wesselink, of the Rotterdam Historical Society, says: “Employment is important, but there are limits to what you can and may do to our heritage.”
When the superyacht, currently known as Y721, launches later this year, it will be the largest sailing yacht in history, overtaking Sea Cloud, which was built in 1931 in Germany and measures 359ft in length.
