The historic bridge “De Hef” has finally been overcome. On the night of Tuesday, Jeff Bezos’ mega yacht “Y721” was freed from the Rotterdam harbor and is now waiting for her sails.
It wasn’t meant to be: Since it became known that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wanted to have the middle section of a historic lift bridge in Rotterdam dismantled for his mega yacht “Y721”, a heated debate broke out in the port city. Some were happy about the approximately 300,000 euros for the dismantling and a lot of work for local construction companies, others wanted to avoid that the interests of a billionaire override those of the local residents. Now it is clear: “De Hef”, the local residents and any revenge actions against the yacht no longer play a role – the ship is already halfway to the North Sea.
Yacht photographer blinded by searchlights
The operator of the YouTube channel “Dutch Yachting”, Hanco Bol, lay in wait on Tuesday night. As he explained to the “Spiegel”, the first preparations to move the “Y721” began at one o’clock in the morning. The transport began at three o’clock. The Dutch photographer accompanied the ship on its journey to the next shipyard – the “Y721” is now at “Greenport”. Bol offers a detailed photo series on his Facebook page.
The responsible shipyard “Oceanco” chose an unusual route for the transfer, it is said. Although the “Y721” reached its destination in record time, it made a detour via the southwest through the “Oude Maas” in order not to have to pass the historic bridge “De Hef” even without sails. The photographer explained that he believed this was purely on purpose and that no one should have seen anything of the yacht. Even on the alternative route, he was blinded with searchlights in order to impair or even prevent recordings of the ship.
The “Y721” now has free access to the sea
The ship has now arrived at “Greenport” in the Eeemhaven near Pernis, far from the gates of the city of Rotterdam. This results in a decisive advantage: Nothing separates the Eemhaven from the North Sea, the waterway is only crossed by a tunnel of the A4. This is ideal for Bezos’ yacht, because his ship will be so tall when fully assembled that almost any bridge that doesn’t swing up would be too low.
Also Read: Jeff Bezos’ New Yacht Is So Big It Needs Its Own Escort Yacht
“Oceanco” and “Greenport” are working for the Amazon founder on the largest sailing yacht in the world. The “Y721” will be 127 meters long and thanks to its sails it will reach a height of 100 meters. The cost of the ship should amount to around 500 million US dollars. The ship is ranked as the largest sailing yacht because the significantly longer “SY A” of oligarch Andrei Melnitschenko is strictly speaking not a sailing yacht, but a sail-supported motor yacht. Bezos’ ship will be able to run on pure wind power. The “SY A” is not.
No reunion with Rotterdam
Hanco Bol reports to “Spiegel” that the final assembly for “Oceanco” is complicated by the relocation, but that the problem with the bridge has finally been solved. Because the shipyard actually planned final assembly at the Zwijndrecht and Alblasserdam locations, where all the employees and all the material would be available more quickly.
As for Rotterdam, the Bezos yacht chapter is done. The ship, especially once the sails are in place, will never be able to return to the “Oceanco” shipyard – and nobody touches “De Hef”.
Sources: Facebook, Spiegel
