Bezos’ $500M Megayacht Stranded After Dutch Firm Abandons Bid to Dismantle Rotterdam Bridge

The Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as ‘De Hef,’ is a landmark bridge that was heavily battered during Germany’s 1940 bombing of Rotterdam. Restored in 2017, the structure is a rijksmonument, or national heritage site, and would not be dismantled after the unveiling, according to city officials.

It appears Jeff Bezos’ $500 million sailing superyacht won’t be going very far after Dutch shipbuilding company Oceano abandoned plans to request the city of Rotterdam dismantle the landmark Koningshaven Bridge to allow passage of the 127-meter schooner and its three masts.

While it remains unclear how Bezos plans to get to the North Sea, city officials did not rule out the possibility of the shipbuilder being granted a permit in the future.

According to documents obtained by Dutch newspaper Trouw, Oceano was taken aback by the public outrage that accompanied its initial bid back in February.

Indeed, many appeared perturbed by the possible tear-down, as events were swiftly organized in protest of the “megalomaniac billionaire,” according to one Facebook event encouraging locals to throw rotten eggs at the superyacht as it passes by the bridge.

The report concluded that the shipbuilder feared vandalism and employees of the shipbuilder felt threatened by locals.

Rotterdam politician Stephan Leewis voiced a moral objection to the request made on behalf of Bezos, tweeting earlier this year that Bezos’ request was a “bridge too far.”

“This man has earned his money by structurally cutting staff, evading taxes, avoiding regulations and now we have to tear down our beautiful national monument?” Lewis said.

Bezos' 127-meter sailing superyacht is designed after Oceano’s 108-meter Black Pearl, an ecological sailing yacht capable of traversing the Atlantic without burning a liter of fuel. The Black Pearl is owned by the family of late billionaire Oleg Burlakov.

View of a yacht, reportedly being built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on the wharf in Zwijndrecht, near Rotterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2021. A plan to dismantle a historic bridge in the heart of Dutch port city Rotterdam so that the huge yacht can get to the North Sea is unlikely to be plain sailing. Reports this week that the city had already agreed to take apart the recently restored Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as De Hef sparked anger in the city, with one Facebook group set up calling for people to pelt the multimillion dollar yacht with rotten eggs.

© AP Photo / Guy Fleury

The ship, dubbed ‘Y721’ since its early stages, is one of the largest vessels ever built in the Netherlands and cost the Amazon founder an estimated $500 million to commission. The sailing yacht’s masts are so tall that Bezos also commissioned a support yacht to carry a helipad in its wake, according to Bloomberg.