An iconic feature of Rotterdam’s skyline, the Koningshaven Bridge - known to locals as De Hef - is set to be temporarily dismantled in order to accommodate the height of Jeff Bezos’ new luxury yacht, which is being built in a town just outside of the Dutch city and will need to travel via the Nieuwe Maas to the North Sea.
It would seem that money really can buy just about anything. Despite the promise from the local municipality that De Hef would never again be dismantled, a request from Bezos and yacht building company Oceanco in Alblasserdam that the middle part of the bridge be removed to allow for the passing of the Amazon founder’s brand new yacht appears to have been approved.
The yacht, which is said to have cost Bezos 430 million euros, is so large that it exceeds the 40-metre clearance height of De Hef. This means that the middle part of the bridge will be temporarily removed - but it’s been reported that Bezos and Oceanco will cover all the necessary costs.
De Hef dates back to 1878 and is reported to be one of the first major structures in Rotterdam. After suffering considerable damage in the bombing of the city in 1940, it required significant repairs and is now a designated national monument. Following major renovation work in 2017, the municipality promised local residents that the bridge would never be dismantled again.
While RTV Rijnmond reported this week that the municipality had received and approved Oceanco's request and that the works were likely to take place over the summer, Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has since told the AD that the permit application was yet to be received and so no decision had been made.
The news has caused much controversy, making headlines all around the world, but it certainly isn't the first time that a Dutch-built superyacht has made international headlines, as a video of the Feadship Project 817 squeezing through the narrow canals of Rotterdam went viral last year.