Decision to dismantle bridge for Bezos' yacht not yet made, Rotterdam mayor says

The city of Rotterdam has not yet decided whether or not to temporarily dismantle the Koningshaven Bridge, better known as De Hef, so that former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' new yacht can pass through it, mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said to AD. The city hasn't even received a permit application yet, he said.

News that the city was planning to dismantle the national monument so that the richest man in the world could move his new yacht through caused quite the commotion earlier this week. Bezos ordered the vessel from Alblasserdam company Oceano. The ship, the Y721, is 127 meters long and thereby the second largest sailing yacht in the world. The three-master can't fit underneath De Hef, so the plan is to temporarily remove the middle part in the summer.

On Wednesday, Marcel Walravens, the point of contact within the municipality on De Hef-related matters, told broadcaster Rijnmond that the city received a request to dismantle the bridge and would agree to it. He said that Oceano and Bezos would cover the costs of the operation.

But according to Aboutaleb, this is not the case. No permit application has been received yet. And once it comes in, the city will weigh the involved interests before making a decision. "The economical, especially the maritime image of our region, and the technical: is it possible without damage. And we want to know whether the buyer will indeed reimburse the costs."