Jeff Bezos, the former president and CEO of Amazon, has a megayacht so big that a Dutch city has opted to remove parts of a historic bridge to let the vessel pass through and into the sea.
On Tuesday, Rjinmond, a Dutch broadcaster reported that Bezos' 417-foot sea vessel was still in the construction phase in the city of Alblasserdam, Netherlands. Once the ship is finished, it will have to pass through Rotterdam to reach the open sea. The major port city is largely considered the maritime capital of Europe.
Bezos' Megayacht
The major issue of the billionaire entrepreneur's yacht is that it has three masts that are too tall to pass underneath the Koningshaven Bridge in Rotterdam. The situation comes despite the bridge having a clearance of more than 131 feet.
Local residents refer to the bridge as De Hef which is nearly a century old but no longer functions as a railroad crossing. However, it has continued to become something of a historic monument within the city. Authorities had the bridge renovated and repaired in 2017 and officials pledged to never have it taken apart again, Business Insider reported.
Bezos, who is one of the richest men in the world, commissioned the construction of the three-mast yacht that tops out at 40 meters high for roughly $485 million. One city spokesperson said that going through the Koningshaven Bridge was the only way for the former Amazon CEO's ship to get to sea.
Authorities said that the dismantling of the historic bridge is expected to last a few weeks and will begin this summer. The decision to dismantle the bridge for the billionaire's vessel received criticism from locals. Some residents expressed their frustrations of the decision to take the bridge apart despite the council's previous commitment to keep it together.
The De Hef bridge was built in 1878 and later rebuilt after it suffered significant damage during World War II. DW News reported that authorities discarded plans to demolish the bridge in 1993 after residents pushed back against the proposal.
Taking Apart a Historic Bridge
One spokesperson that spoke on behalf of the Rotterdam mayor said that Bezos will be paying for the cost of dismantling the bridge. They added that the middle portion of the historic monument will be taken apart to allow Bezos' ship to pass through.
The Rotterdam mayor's office received criticism from residents and had to deflect the heat by diverting the locals' attention to the jobs that have been created because of the ship's construction in the Netherlands. Officials emphasized that Bezos offered economic benefits for the city and its people.
Additionally, authorities promised the citizens of the city that they will work on rebuilding the bridge once the billionaire entrepreneur's ship passes through. The 57-year-old former Amazon CEO previously blasted into space aboard his Blue Origin capsule, a moment that was part of a race among some of the richest men in the world and a showcase of the technology that they have built with their companies, as per The Economic Times.
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