Elaine McCallig
Feb 07, 2022
Euronews
An historic bridge in the Netherlands may be dismantled to allow Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s superyacht to pass through, it was reported last week.
The central section of the 114-year-old Koningshaven Bridge in Rotterdam may be dismantled to allow the billionaire’s new $500 million pleasure boat to leave the shipyard where it has been built.
Bezos’s 127-metre long custom yacht is being constructed by Dutch company Oceanco and once it’s complete later this year, the three-mast vessel will be the tallest sailing yacht in the world.
The bridge, nicknamed “De Hef” by locals is 131 ft (39.9 m) high, which will make it tricky for Bezos’s 130 ft (39.6 m) superyacht to get out of the shipyard.
If plans for the bridge to be dismantled go ahead, Rotterdam locals have vowed to make their feelings known.
Sign up for our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
A Facebook event aptly titled “Throwing eggs at superyacht Jeff Bezos” has been created, with almost 3,000 marked as “going” to the event. A further 10,000 have expressed their interest.
The event description calls on locals to grab a box of rotten eggs, or tomatoes if they’re vegan, to fire at the superyacht as it passes under De Hef.
Organisers added: "Rotterdam was built from the rubble by the people of Rotterdam, and we don't just take that apart for the phallic symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire. Not without a fight!"
I am going to throw stuff at Jeff Bezos' yachthttps://twitter.com/DutchNewsNL/status/1488796120948088834\u00a0\u2026— Rory Stott (@Rory Stott) 1643811733
jeff bezos drove his yacht into my rotten eggshttps://twitter.com/srslyberserk/status/1489770403014840323\u00a0\u2026— jonathan zong \ud83c\udf4a\ud83e\udd44 (@jonathan zong \ud83c\udf4a\ud83e\udd44) 1644081269
Jeff Bezos may deserve it, but I encourage the people of The Netherlands thinking of throwing eggs at his $500M yacht to reconsider and NOT purchase them in any of these convenient grocery store locations walkable to the Koningshaven / De Hef bridge passage.pic.twitter.com/8oXDIiL0hy— raf bardigang cadet (@raf bardigang cadet) 1644187957
Despite the city promising that the major renovations to the bridge in 2017 would be the last time the bridge would be dismantled, it's been reported that Bezos or Oceano would need to shell out the cost if the plan goes ahead.
Before a decision is made over what to do with the bridge, Dutch officials will take a number of factors into account, including the impact such an operation would have on the environment and local economy, according to CNN.
However it seems no such permit has been requested yet, CBS reports.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Top 100
The Conversation (0)