The height of the masts of the superyacht whose order is attributed to the millionaire American businessman Jeff Bezos, founder of the Amazon company, is no longer a problem for the City of Rotterdam.
127 meters long and built in the Netherlands, a 1927 bridge, called De Hef (The Elevator), located in the city's port, had to be dismantled so that the enormous ship could cross it and reach the North Sea with their sticks already placed.
In view of the criticism and threats of vandalism unleashed by this possibility, the construction company, Oceanco, has decided to transfer the ship without the masts to a shipyard in the port complex from where it will sail to open waters without problems.
The yacht's code is Project Y721, and Royal van der Wees, the transport company in charge of the trip, confirms the displacement, but has declined to comment further when asked by this newspaper.
The ship was in a shipyard located about 28 kilometers from her current destination: Greenport Rotterdam.
It is an installation where the final touches will be given, "in a phase of work carried out regularly in the port of Rotterdam for all types of boats brought from different countries", specifies René Quist, director of the
Schuttevaer nautical newspaper
.
The exit to the sea of large ships from the Dutch wharf is a spectacle that usually attracts a large audience.
In the case of Jeff Bezos' ship, which will be the largest served by Oceanco to date, the tour would have been very eye-catching and beneficial from a public relations point of view.
However, Quist believes “that the controversy unleashed on social networks [where eggs were even encouraged to be thrown at the passage of the ship] has to do with the conflict between the historical weight of the De Hef bridge, and its symbolic value for the city. , and what we could call nouveaux riches who pull checkbooks without problems”.
Bezos is the second richest man in the world with an estimated fortune of 159 billion euros, according to
Forbes magazine's 2022 list.
.
The Bloomberg agency puts the cost of the ship at 430 million.
For its part, Oceanco is a construction company with a shipyard in the Netherlands, whose owner and president is Mohamed al Barwani, a businessman from Oman.
Image of the Koninginnebrug bridge, known as De Hef, in the city of Rotterdam. Thierry Monasse (Getty Images)
De Hef is the colloquial nickname for the bridge that seemed in danger, although it is actually called Koningshavenbrug (something like King's Harbor Bridge) and is a national monument.
Erected to allow train traffic, it was damaged in the bombing of Rotterdam in May 1940 during World War II.
It was one of the first structures to be restored later, and, although it lost its function decades ago when a railway tunnel was opened, today it is one of the engineering works that gives the Dutch city its appearance and connects the island of Noordereiland with the Feijenoord district.
Its central part has a free height of a considerable 46 meters, which is not enough for Bezos' yacht to pass with its masts standing.
Despite the fact that the City Council contemplates the possibility of issuing a permit to dismantle this bridge twice a year under strict conditions and although the expenses would be borne by Oceanco, the company has finally preferred to avoid risks.
Nor does it comment on it for reasons of confidentiality.
At the end of this June, the city councilor Vincent Karremans reported that the center piece of De Hef would not be dismantled in the short term, since Oceanco had not applied for the corresponding permit.
It is no longer necessary.
City Councilor Vincent Karremans reported that the De Hef centerpiece would not be dismantled any time soon, as Oceanco had not applied for permission.
It is no longer necessary.
City Councilor Vincent Karremans reported that the De Hef centerpiece would not be dismantled any time soon, as Oceanco had not applied for permission.
It is no longer necessary.