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The yacht en route to the Greenport shipyard
Photo: Dutch Yachting
It was one of the most exciting topics in the Netherlands in recent months: a historic bridge in Rotterdam was to be removed – at least for a while – for a new super yacht that, according to media reports, is being built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
But Bezos, who was already flying to the edge of space, failed because of the angry Rotterdammers: Many threatened to throw eggs at the launch if something happened to the bridge.
Now the ship with the model designation "Y721" was taken to another shipyard early in the morning without masts or media hype, as SPIEGEL learned.
Hanco Bol from the yacht fan club Dutch Yachting followed the transport by car and took photos along the way, and he also published a video of the yacht's first trip on YouTube.
"I didn't get much sleep last night," he says over the phone, laughing.
»I left the house at half past twelve in the morning and came back at 7 a.m..« Specialist media also reported on the transport of the ship.
According to Bol, preparations for the transport of the ship began at 1 a.m., and the transport started at 3 a.m.
The yacht was towed to the Greenport shipyard in just three hours, which was unusually fast.
Normally, transport on the selected route would take almost twice as long, says Bol.
According to the yacht expert, the chosen route is also unusual: the ship could have reached its new location much faster through the Koningshaven, says Bol – but then it would have had to drive through the city center and pass the Koningshaven Bridge, which is the reason for the dispute had even started.
Searchlights against photographers
The Koningshaven Bridge, colloquially called »De Hef«, is almost 100 years old and shaped like the letter »H«.
The middle section of the bridge can be raised to about 40 meters - but that was too low for Bezos' mega yacht.
Therefore, the moveable middle part should be removed and put back after the passage – but that caused outrage among the people of Rotterdam.
The shipbuilder Oceanco finally announced that after violent reactions and threats, no application for a partial dismantling of the bridge was made.
So now the clandestine transfer of the yacht to another shipyard.
Oceanco has not yet responded to a recent request from SPIEGEL.
Bol suspects that they wanted to avoid pictures of the controversial superyacht under the bridge and therefore chose the longer, darker southwest route and the night time.
"I think that was intentional," he says.
"When I was standing on one of the bridges, they shined a searchlight on me, so it wasn't easy for me to take pictures."
Nevertheless, the journey of the ship was impressive, says Bol.
"It's a spectacular yacht because of the bowsprit," says Bol.
The bowsprit protrudes far beyond the bow as a rod-like extension.
The wood on Bezos' yacht is white and stands out in striking contrast to the dark hull, which is unusually large for a sailing yacht.
"It's huge," said Bol.
First mast probably already on the way
With a length of 127 meters, the ship is one of the largest sailing yachts in the world.
According to Dutch media, it will cost 430 million euros and will reportedly have three masts.
It may be months before completion.
According to Bol's information, the first of the masts will probably be installed this Wednesday.
He is already on his way to the new shipyard.
The completion of the bridge dispute has become more complex for the shipyard, Bol suspects.
The shipyard would have “all the equipment and all the employees who work on it” on its own premises.
So you have to accommodate all these people in different places and also all the equipment.« It is also common for ships to return to the shipyard after being tested at sea, for example to make adjustments to the stabilization.
For the "Y721", however, the way to the original shipyard with the masts would be closed.
