The shipyard where the yacht is being built asks to dismantle the middle part of the historic centuries-old bridge so that the ship can go to the open sea. According to media reports, Bezos has already paid the bill for the temporary dismantling of the attraction.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ $540 Y721 luxury yacht is still in Oceano’s shipyard in Alblasserdam, Netherlands. A major controversy has erupted around it. informs Bloomberg.
A Facebook post has invited Rotterdammers to gather at the Koningshavenbrug bridge with rotten eggs on June 1 and throw them at the yacht as it passes by.
The post urges people to bring eggs and throw them at Jeff’s yacht as it goes through De Hef, as a protest against the disruption caused by the billionaire's oversized yacht.
The reason for the protest is the need to partially dismantle a historic railway bridge for the yacht to pass through. Reports say the shipyard has made the request and Bezos has paid for it.
New ships normally pass under the bridge with 40 meters of clearance before their masts are assembled. However, Bezos' yacht is 41 meters high and 127 meters long, with three huge masts and three decks.
The Y721 yacht is being built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at a cost of $175 billion.
Rotterdam has not yet received permission to temporarily remove the bridge for the yacht. The city’s mayor said the decision will be made after the application for a permit and impact assessment.
Marcel Vlravens, a spokesman for local authorities, said the project is vital for Rotterdam's economy, so completing the yacht elsewhere is not an option.
Rotterdam highly values its reputation as the ‘sea capital of Europe’. Shipbuilding is crucial to the city’s economy,
The GroenLinks party has called for an urgent council debate over the bridge's temporary removal.
Stephan Leavis, a GroenLinks adviser, criticized Bezos for making money unethically and expressed opposition to dismantling the national monument.
“Deze man heeft zijn geld verdiend door het uitknijpen van personeel, het ontwijken van belastingen/regelgeving en nu moeten wij ons mooie rijksmonument afbreken? Dat gaat echt een brug te ver” aldus @StephanLeewis die hierover een debat heeft aangevraagd.https://t.co/C5GvEztQcu
— GroenLinks Rotterdam (@groenlinksrdam) February 2, 2022
The head of the Historical Society of Rotterdam, Ton Wesselink, was initially surprised by the news and later expressed anger at the decision to dismantle the bridge.
De Hef, built in 1927, is an important tourist attraction in Rotterdam and has a significant historical background.
The bridge with two towers and a green tint of steel was badly damaged in 1940 during the bombing of Rotterdam and is now officially protected as a tourist attraction.
De Hef railway bridge (Koningshavenbrug)
Previous attempts to permanently demolish the bridge, such as in 1993, have met with fierce opposition from local residents who have managed to block the plan. From 2014 to 2017, the pedestrian bridge between the two towers did not function due to restoration work, after which the mayor’s office promised not to take it apart again.
The passage of the superyacht under the Koningshaven bridge is scheduled for the upcoming summer. It is assumed that the half-dismantled bridge will stand for a maximum of several weeks.
What is known about the superyacht Y721
Last October, the superyacht, known as Y721, was launched from the Zwijndrecht shipyard and then moved to Alblasserdam for final fitting. It is being built by Oceanco. and is believed to be based on the 106-meter yacht Black Pearl. Built in 2018 for Russian billionaire Oleg Burlakov, who died last June, this is the largest sailing yacht in the world with three 70-meter-high carbon fiber masts.
Yacht “Black Pearl” (Black Pearl)
A smaller escort ship with a length of 75 meters is supposed to accompany the yacht. It will have a helipad, as there is no space for it on the main ship due to the huge masts.
It will also carry cars, speedboats and, most likely, a mini-submarine.
