Jeff Bezos’ new superyacht forcing Dutch to dismantle historic bridge
- The structure, known as De Hef, will have to be partially demolished to make way for the vessel’s giant masts as it travels to its billionaire owner
- The yacht, code-named Y721, has such big sails that Bezos needs a smaller support yacht to trail along so his helicopter has a place to safely land
Jeff Bezos’s massive new superyacht is nearing completion, but getting it to its owner will require taking out a bridge.
The 417-foot (127-metre) sailing yacht, code-named Y721, is being built by Alblasserdam, Netherlands-based Oceanco.
For the boat to reach the ocean, it will have to pass through Rotterdam, and navigate a landmark steel bridge known as De Hef. A lift bridge, De Hef’s central span can be raised more than 130 feet into the air, but that is still not high enough to accommodate the yacht’s three giant masts.
So the city has agreed to temporarily take apart the bridge’s central section this summer for Bezos’s yacht to pass through, according to Frances van Heijst, a Rotterdam spokeswoman. The NL Times reported the bridge plan on Wednesday.
The Y721 will be one of the largest sailing yachts ever built in the Netherlands, the unofficial capital of boat building for the very wealthy.