Jeff Bezos is getting a new toy, a 417-foot-long sailing yacht that will be the world’s largest sailing yacht. There’s a catch, though: the three-masted yacht is too tall to fit under Amsterdam’s iconic Hef bridge, and arrangements have been made to partially dismantle the historic bridge to let it through.
According to local broadcasters, the Oceanco shipyard and city officials have agreed to a plan that will see the central lift portion of the bridge temporarily removed to let the ship pass through. The project manager says that he hopes the shift will take only one day.
Protests from civic groups and Council members may stand in the way; a formal hearing by the City Council is scheduled for this coming week. Complaints are grounded partly in reverence for the landmarked bridge, but also significantly in complaints about Amazon’s record as an employer and anger by some at the very existence of super-yachts.
The bridge, whose formal name is Koningshavenbrug, or Kings Harbor Bridge, is usually just called De Hef, which means The Lift. The bridge dates to the 1870s, but the center left section was added in 1927 to replace a swing bridge. Rebuilt after heavy WW II damage, it has largely retired to landmark status, but was renovated in 2007.
At that point, the city promised never to disrupt it again, but apparently that promise is now to be broken, despite objections from historians and others. Ton Wesselink of the Rotterdam Historical Society told reporters ‘Jobs are important, but there are limits with what you can and should do with our industrial heritage.’
Bezos is also reported to have commissioned a second yacht, a 246-foot support vessel that can accommodate an extra 45 crew and guests. According to Architectural Digest, ‘shadow vessels’ like that are becoming common for owners of larger super-yachts. And no, you can’t buy one on Amazon.
Image: PHeymont/TravelGumbo
