Jeff Bezos' Yacht Sails Across Rotterdam Without Dismantling Historic Bridge - Reports

PARIS (Sputnik) - The superyacht of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos managed to pass the port of Rotterdam without requiring the dismantling of a historic De Hef bridge, a plan that was mulled both by the city authorities and by the vessel's builder to let the boat get into the open ocean, Rotterdam-based daily Algeemen Dagblad reported on Wednesday.

The megayacht was built in the town of Alblasserdam near Rotterdam by a Netherlands-based company Oceanco. The firm requested that a part of the monumental De Hef bridge be dismantled, as it did not have enough clearance for the Bezos' yacht, specifically, its three tall masts. In February, the city authorities agreed to temporarily take apart the De Hef bridge, sparking a wave of public outcry across the country.

The mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, was quick to announce that the authorities had not yet made a decision concerning the bridge.

According to Algeemen Dagblad, the company that transported the yacht, Koninklijke Van der Wees, confirmed that the vessel was successfully delivered to the port of Eemshaven, but gave no further details. Similarly, Oceanco made no comments, citing confidentiality reasons.

The yacht reportedly had its masts removed to pass the De Hef bridge and will have them reinstalled in Eemshaven, which sits just by the North Sea.

The Koningshavenbrug bridge, better known as De Hef, was built in 1927. The Rotterdam authorities restored the bridge in 2017 and promised never to dismantle it again.