To pass a yacht under construction commissioned by the former CEO of Amazon, a bridge in Rotterdam in the Netherlands will be dismantled. A rare operation that has just been authorized by the town hall.
A bridge in Rotterdam (Netherlands) will be dismantled to allow the yacht of the former CEO of Amazon to pass towards the sea. An unprecedented situation announced by the municipality on Wednesday February 2.
The yacht under construction upstream
The shipbuilder Oceanco, specializing in the design and construction of large custom-made yachts, was in charge of producing Jeff Bezos’ yacht, in Alblasserdam, a town upstream from Rotterdam. However, the ship is so large that it cannot pass under the Koningshaven bridge to reach the sea. However, the bridge has a “free” height of more than 40 meters, according to the Dutch media Rijnmond.
A listed bridge
The Koningshaven bridge, also called “De Hef”, which dates from 1927, was rebuilt in 2017 after renovation work. It is now listed as a national monument. At the time, the municipality announced that this dismantling would be the last. But today it has just authorized the shipbuilder to dismantle the structure for the passage of the American billionaire’s boat. Jeff Bezos and Oceanco have assured the authorities that the work to dismantle the bridge will be entirely financed by them.
“From an economic and job preservation point of view, the municipality considers this project very important. […] Furthermore, Rotterdam has also been declared the maritime capital of Europe. Shipbuilding and activity in this sector therefore constitute an important pillar for the municipality”, explains Marcel Walravens, in charge of managing the dismantling.
