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Jeff Bezos’ unfinished mega yacht was towed away from a Dutch shipbuilding yard before dawn Tuesday just weeks after Rotterdam residents threatened to pelt the luxury vessel with eggs if the city went through with plans to dismantle a landmark bridge to make way for the $500 million ship.

The 417-foot long, three-masted yacht, which goes by the name Y721 , was relocated from the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam to the Greenport yard just 24 miles away in Rotterdam, according to the German-language daily Der Spiegel.

Video of the towing was posted to YouTube by Dutch yacht enthusiast Hanco Bol.

“We never saw a transport going that fast,” Bol writes of what he witnessed. It took less than three hours for the ship to travel southwest along the Noord canal even though it normally requires nearly twice as much time to traverse the route, according to Bol.

He speculates that Oceanco, the company that was commissioned to build the yacht, chose the timing of the move in order to keep it under wraps given the considerable publicity it has generated.

Rotterdammers who were furious about plans to dismantle “De Hef” bridge , also known as Koningshaven, had threatened to pelt the yacht with eggs if it made the journey.

Bol writes that the yacht’s route was designed to avoid traveling through the Rotterdam city center and underneath “De Hef” — even though it would have saved more time.

Oceanco last month announced that it had dropped its request for the Rotterdam city council to approve the temporary dismantling of the bridge.

The company had indicated that Bezos, the Amazon founder and second-richest person in the world, was willing to foot the bill for the removal of the middle section of the span so that the yacht would be able to sail through the Nieuwe Mass River.

Bol speculates that Oceanco intentionally avoided towing the unfinished yacht underneath “De Hef.”

“I think that was intentional,” he told Der Spiegel. 

“When I was standing on one of the bridges, they shined a searchlight on me, so it wasn’t easy for me to take pictures.”

According to Dutch media reports, it will take several more months for the ship to be completed.

The Post has reached out to Amazon and Oceanco seeking comment.

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Rotterdam Now Won't Dismantle a Historic Bridge for Jeff Bezos's Superyacht

The Amazon founder's new sailing yacht is too tall to pass under the historic Koningshaven bridge.

"We’re happy it’s not happening," Marvin Biljoen, a councilman for GroenLinks, the Dutch Green Party, told the New York Times . "T he bridge is a national monument, which shouldn’t be altered too much. That you could still do that with money anyway bothers us."

Last week, Oceano quietly towed the yacht up the river in the early hours of the morning to a different shipyard, and now, Bezos's boat is nearly completed. The YouTube channel Dutch Yachting shared a video of the boat, and it has three large masts completed:

Expect the superyacht to be on the open seas soon.

Original 2/7/22 : The European port of Rotterdam will dismantle part of its iconic Koningshaven bridge for Jeff Bezos. The billionaire's new yacht is being built in Alblasserdam, in the western Netherlands, and will be too tall to pass under the bridge.

"It's the only route to the sea," a spokesperson for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP , confirming the news of the bridge's dismantling. According to Dutch news , ship builder Oceanco convinced the city to dismantle part of the bridge. The Rotterdam mayor's spokesperson also confirmed that Bezos would pay for the dismantling and rebuilding of the bridge.

In November, Oceano's chairman, Omani businessman Dr. Mohammed Al Barwani, spoke of the 127 meter (416 feet) sailing yacht the company was working on without mentioning Bezos. Later, Boat International identified the 127m yacht as the one commissioned by the Amazon founder.

The Koningshaven bridge, known locally as the De Hef bridge , was built in 1877. During World War II, the bridge was significantly damaged and rebuilt, subsequently recognized as a historic monument. Between 2014 and 2017, the bridge underwent a restoration, and officials promised it would not be dismantled again.

"From an economic perspective and maintaining employment, the municipality considers this a very important project," Marcel Walravens, the leader of the proposed dismantling project, told Dutch broadcaster Rijnmond . "Rotterdam has also been declared the maritime capital of Europe. Shipbuilding and activity within that sector are therefore an important pillar for the municipality." Walravens says the project will likely take place sometime this summer.

Dennis Tak, a Labor Party city councilor, said he was OK with the dismantling of the Koningshaven bridge because Bezos is paying for it, and it would create jobs. "As a city, this is a great way to take some of his money," Tak told the New York Times .

Dutch residents are not happy, however; they plan to throw rotten eggs at Jeff Bezos's superyacht as it passes through the Rotterdam harbor. Business Insider reports Rotterdam locals are planning an event called "Throwing eggs at Jeff Bezos' superyacht" in protest.

"Calling all Rotterdammers, take a box of rotten eggs with you and let's throw them en masse at Jeff's superyacht when it sails through the Hef in Rotterdam," the event description reads on Facebook. "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!" 3,300 people have RSVP'd as going, and 11,600 are interested in the event.

When Bezos's yacht, known as Y721, is delivered later this year—after the bridge is dismantled—the boat will become the world's largest sailing yacht, a title that has been held for nearly a century by American socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post's 1931 boat Sea Cloud .

Along with making history as the largest sailing yacht, Bezos's Y271 is the longest yacht to have ever been built in the Netherlands, and Oceano's largest ever superyacht. It is also rumored to come with a "support yacht," also called a shadow vessel. The superyacht likely cost more than $500 million to build, per Bloomberg .

Bezos is also reportedly the owner of the Flying Fox, a $400 million megayacht.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

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Jeff Bezos’ $500m superyacht stuck after firm decides against dismantling historic Dutch bridge, says report

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Jeff Bezos ’ $500m superyacht is stuck after the Dutch firm building it decided against dismantling a historic Rotterdam bridge following a public backlash and threats of an egg-throwing protest, says a report.

The billionaire Amazon founder had offered to pay for the middle section of the decommissioned Koningshavenbrug to be removed so that his monster 412ft sailing yacht, which is named Y721, could reach the ocean from its shipyard.

The yacht, currently the second-largest in the world, cannot get under the “De Hef” bridge without the modification taking place. But the plan has now been cancelled by manufacturer Oceanco after the criticism it faced, according to Dutch news outlet Trouw .

Back in February, it was announced that Oceanco had asked the city to temporarily remove the bridge, which dates from 1878 and was last renovated in 2017.

Marcel Walravens who managed the renovation project, told RTV that it was “not practical” to partially finish the vessel and complete construction elsewhere.

“If you carry out a big job somewhere, you want all your tools in that place. Otherwise, you have to go back and forth constantly. In addition, this is such a large project that there are hardly any locations where this work is finished.”

And he added: “From an economic perspective and maintaining employment, the municipality considers this a very important project. Rotterdam has also been declared the maritime capital of Europe.”

History groups in Rotterdam opposed the works, with thousands of Facebook users signing a petition promising to egg the yacht as it travelled through the city towards the open ocean.

“Calling all Rotterdammers take a box of rotten eggs with you, and let’s throw them en masse at Jeff’s superyacht when it sails through the Hef in Rotterdam,” wrote event organiser Pablo Strörmann on the social media platform.

Now, the NL Times reports, Oceanco has “informed the municipality that it is cancelling its current logistical plans.”

Employees at the company “feel threatened and the company fears it will be vandalised”, according to DutchNews.nl

It is unclear how the yacht will now be moved from the construction site to the open water.

The Independent has reached out to Mr Bezos and Oceanco for comment.

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Jeff Bezos vs the bridge: Rotterdam’s dilemma over billionaire’s superyacht

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Jeff Bezos faces an obstacle before he can sail the world’s biggest superyacht, commissioned by the Amazon founder at the cost of $500mn: Rotterdam’s Koningshaven Bridge.

Oceanco, the Dutch maker of the 417-foot boat codenamed Y721, is seeking permission from the city to temporarily dismantle the central section of the 95-year-old bridge, known by the locals as “De Hef”. That would allow the yacht’s three 70-metre tall masts to pass through Rotterdam’s port from the nearby shipyard where it is being constructed.

The request has led to a furious debate among locals, one that has left them grappling with issues of global inequality and the power of tech billionaires. A proudly working-class city has been left with a dilemma: what is the real cost of making way for the world’s richest person?

“Are we going to bow our heads for Jeff Bezos just to give him his pleasure boat?” said Paul van de Laar, head of the history department at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. “Is this city built to make sure that the billionaires can have a good time?”

City officials insist the application process to dismantle the bridge is ongoing, adding that a permit has not been officially requested. A formal decision is expected as early as this month with the ship ready in August.

Oceanco’s back-up plan is to assemble the mast after the hull passes through — it remains unclear why Bezos does not take this option instead.

Two people with direct knowledge of the discussions suggest that a tacit agreement is in place between the city of Rotterdam and the shipmaker. They said the city may allow De Hef to be dismantled for short periods once or twice a year so large boats get safe passage for an estimated fee of €100,000.

“It doesn’t make sense to start building a $500mn ship with no prior approval, otherwise you have a $500mn problem in your hands,” said one of these people.

Bezos’s representatives did not reply to requests for comment. Oceanco declined to comment other than saying it values the “privacy and confidentiality” of its clients.

Rotterdam’s town hall said the application process was ongoing and, when deciding whether to issue a permit, the city will consider how many jobs have been created as a result of building the ship, the “possible environmental nuisance” and risks that could have an impact on the preservation of the monument.

There is a growing expectation that the city will accommodate Bezos’s wishes, though. That has split local opinion.

Some view Bezos as an avatar of aggressive capitalism who built a $1tn company with a patchy reputation over its treatment of blue-collar workers. Others welcome him as a job creator, whose willingness to spend lavishly on the superyacht is seen as an endorsement of the Netherlands’ centuries-old reputation as a seafaring superpower.

“It’s becoming a question of ego and arrogance,” said Dianthus Panacho, a 55-year-old entrepreneur and Rotterdam native. Panacho said Bezos should pay double the expected fee “so that he can contribute this extra €100,000 to help out impoverished families near the bridge”.

Ellen Verkoelen, a politician campaigning for the rights of people over the age of 50 and a member of the newly elected city council, argued that the boat should be allowed to sail through. “I think [some are jealous of those] who have money to do anything they want,” she said. “And they are right but when they have money why not spend it here?”

Built in 1927, the bridge was originally designed to connect the north and south parts of the city via a railway as Rotterdam’s first-ever railway bridge and a recognition of the port’s growing importance in the industrialisation of the Netherlands.

Having captured the imagination of locals, it was the subject of a silent film by Dutch film-maker Joris Ivens, who explored the complexity of the vertical-lift railroad bridge. It was later decommissioned in 1993 as a working bridge, though later restored as a monument in 2017.

Piet Momofer, a school governor, said the boat showed off the nation’s status as among the world’s premier shipbuilders. “People from different countries come to work here,” he said. “It’s important for the Dutch to have an outstanding quality of making those ships.”

The details of Bezos’s yacht have been kept top secret, but the design is reportedly inspired by Oceanco’s Black Pearl, currently the world’s largest and, it is claimed, most ecological sailing yacht, which can cross the Atlantic without the need for fuel and reaches top speeds of 30 knots. The Black Pearl has a spa pool, hot tub and a beach club cinema onboard. Reported early sightings of Bezos’s ship showed a white superstructure with a black hull.

Elko van Winzum, a 58-year-old industrial psychologist, said the idea of a billionaire sailing his luxury boat through the city’s canals went against the “Rotterdam way of life”, which he defined as “working hard, building things, having a laugh, drinking a beer and looking out for each other”.

“And then there is some ultra-rich guy from abroad. OK, he created some jobs for building this ship but after the transaction is over those jobs will be gone,” he said.

Van de Laar, the history professor, said the dilemma was whether “the city is in control of its own public space”, or whether the ultra-rich “always find a way” to override popular opinion.

“There is more than lifting a bridge,” he said. “From an engineering point of view it is not a big deal. But that’s not the point. You should take your citizens seriously.”

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Rotterdam May Dismantle Part of Bridge for Jeff Bezos’ Superyacht

The Dutch city of Rotterdam walked back earlier comments that the historic Koningshaven Bridge would be briefly dismantled. On Thursday, officials said a decision had not yet been made.

By Jenny Gross

The Dutch city of Rotterdam on Thursday walked back plans to dismantle part of the historic Koningshaven Bridge so that a superyacht built for Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, could pass through the city’s river, saying that a decision had not yet been made.

This week, city officials had told the news media that Rotterdam had agreed to briefly dismantle the middle section of the 95-year-old bridge for the yacht’s passage this summer.

But on Thursday evening, officials said in another statement that the city had not yet approved the plan, though it had received a request from the shipbuilder to temporarily lift the middle part of bridge.

The city’s statement said the full cost of the dismantling, if approved, would be covered by the shipbuilder. The bridge, known locally as “De Hef,” would be restored immediately afterward.

A city spokeswoman had said that she did not have an estimate of how much the deconstruction would cost. The city statement said that officials would assess the environmental and economic effects of the plans.

A representative for Amazon did not respond to requests for comment about the cost or the yacht’s destination. A spokeswoman for Oceanco, the Dutch custom yacht company that is building the boat, said in an email that she could not comment on projects under construction or clients because of confidentiality reasons.

The city of Rotterdam’s decision to remove part of the bridge was reported on Wednesday by a regional Dutch public broadcaster, Rijnmond . Boat International, which publishes articles about the superyacht industry, reported that the 417-foot sailboat is set to become the largest sailing yacht in the world when it is finished later this year, surpassing the Sea Cloud , a 360-foot sailboat built in 1931 and owned by the Yacht Portfolio, an investment company based in Malta.

The superyacht Mr. Bezos commissioned is likely to cost more than $500 million to build, Bloomberg reported . Mr. Bezos is the world’s second-richest person , after Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk.

The bridge, which has a boat clearance of 130 feet, is not currently in use. A Rotterdam tour guide, Eddy le Couvreur, said that the bridge, designed by the Dutch architect Pieter Joosting and a fixture in the Rotterdam skyline, was once used for railway traffic. A vertical lift bridge, it was the first of its kind in the Netherlands, and was copied from similar bridges in the United States. The modern industrial aesthetics of the bridge inspired a short film in 1928, he said.

Until now, tall ships passed under the bridge before assembling their masts and taller structures, he said.

Dennis Tak, a Labor Party city councilor for Rotterdam, said he was fine with the bridge being dismantled — since the city would not be paying for it — because of the jobs the process would create. “As a city, this is a great way to take some of his money,” Mr. Tak said.

The structure is more than a bridge to the people of Rotterdam, said Siebe Thissen, the author of the book “The Boy Who Jumped From the Bridge,” about a working-class man who jumped from the bridge in 1933. “It’s a monument,” he said. “It’s the identity of Rotterdam.”

When city officials tried to take the bridge down in the 1990s since it was no longer in use, there were major protests, he said, calling the bridge a reminder of “the old days” in Rotterdam.

“I think that’s why there is so much turmoil about Jeff Bezos and his boat,” he said, before referring to accusations against Amazon . “People say, ‘Why this guy?’ It’s a working-class town, and they all know that Jeff Bezos, of course, he exploits his workers, so people say, ‘Why should this guy be able to demolish the bridge for his boat?’”

As of Thursday, more than 600 Facebook users said they would attend an event, titled “Throwing eggs at superyacht Jeff Bezos,” where they plan to gather by the bridge to throw eggs at the boat. “Rotterdammers are proud of their city and don’t tear down iconic buildings just because you are super rich,” said Pablo Strörmann, the event organizer, who said he started the Facebook group “mostly” as a joke.

Mr. le Couvreur, who works for the company Tours by Locals, which connects tourists with local guides, said that Rotterdammers would likely enjoy the international attention that the spectacle had brought, he said. “On the other hand, it shows the unimaginable wealth that people like Bezos have created for themselves, that nothing can stand in the way for them living out their dreams and hobbies,” he said, adding that the outlook was “worlds apart from those who will be watching the ship pass through the city.”

Claire Moses contributed reporting.

Jenny Gross is a general assignment reporter. Before joining The Times, she covered British politics for the The Wall Street Journal. More about Jenny Gross

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Rotterdam to partly dismantle historic bridge for Jeff Bezos’s superyacht

Central section of Koningshaven Bridge to be removed to make way for Amazon founder’s $485m superyacht

A historic steel bridge in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam is to be partly dismantled to allow a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to pass, local authorities have announced.

Bezos’s gigantic, 430-million-euro ($485m) yacht is too big for the iconic Koningshaven Bridge, which dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during the second world war.

The shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam, has asked the local council to remove the bridge’s central section so it can pass through.

“It’s the only route to the sea,” a spokesperson for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, adding that the Amazon owner would foot the bill for the operation.

The decision has angered some in the Netherlands as the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef.

The mayor’s office emphasised the economic benefits and jobs created by the construction of the boat, but promised that the bridge would be rebuilt in its current form.

The middle section of the huge steel-girdered bridge will be removed to give enough clearance for the 40-metre (130-foot) high boat, Dutch media reported.

The process will take a few weeks and is expected to happen this summer.

Bezos, 57, is one of the world’s richest men after transforming online bookseller Amazon into a global shopping giant.

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It’s Official: Rotterdam Will Not Dismantle Historic Bridge for Jeff Bezos’s Superyacht

By Katherine McLaughlin

Five months ago when it was announced that Jeff Bezos had plans to dismantle a historic bridge in Rotterdam so his half-a-billion-dollar superyacht could make it out of the Koningshaven channel, frustrated residents from the Dutch city came up with a plan of their own: Throw rotten eggs at the Amazon founder and his watercraft. 

Last week, according to a report in The New York Times , it became apparent that neither proposition will come to fruition. The company responsible for building the ship, Oceanco, reportedly told the Rotterdam City Council that it will not be requesting a permit to temporarily take apart the Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as De Hef, or “the lift” in Dutch. It was unclear how, or if, the massive yacht will make it out of the port city. 

For the vessel to pass through, the central lift span would need to be removed, which would take about a day according to city officials. 

Bezos hired Oceanco to build the custom vessel, but its three large masts are too tall to safely pass under the bridge. In order to get the boat into the open ocean, the company toyed with the idea of dismantling only the middle part, then putting it back together. Though it was never a done deal (Rotterdam officials briefly confirmed they would allow the bridge’s deconstruction, then quickly retracted the statement saying the decision was still up in the air), when word first spread that the bridge could’ve been taken apart, the sheer possibility was enough to cause public outcry. 

Lift bridge decks can accommodate heavier materials, and, as such, are popular options for railways. 

De Hef, finished in 1927, is a vertical lift bridge designed by architect Pieter Joosting. Originally part of the Breda-Rotterdam Railway, the bridge was saved from demolition even after the railway suspended use in 1993. De Hef has a long history with the city, and was the first of its kind built in Western Europe. It was also the first structure restored after the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940 during World War II. Though it has been dismantled in the past—most recently in 2014 for repairs—at least for now, it will stay put. 

By Nicolas Milon

By Joyce Chen

By Leonie Rolinck

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Mayor denies Dutch city will dismantle historic bridge for Jeff Bezos' yacht

By Megan Cerullo

February 4, 2022 / 2:05 PM EST / MoneyWatch

A Dutch city has not agreed to temporarily disassemble a bridge built in 1927 to make room for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ' mega-yacht, CBS MoneyWatch has learned.

A spokesperson for the mayor — and the city — on Friday told CBS MoneyWatch that Dutch press reports that Rotterdam would disassemble an historic bridge to make room for Bezos' boat were false, and that it has not received, or approved any such request. 

If Bezos or custom yacht-builder Oceanco asks for an accommodation, the city will consider it.

"The company that built the ship didn't yet ask for a permit so there is not an issue at this moment. When they ask for the permit, then we have to make a decision if we allow it or not, and how, and things like that," the spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.

Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb also denied earlier press reports, telling Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad that "No decision has been made yet," noting that neither Bezos nor his yacht's maker have applied for a permit to take down part of the bridge. 

The Amazon founder's $500 million boat, built by Netherlands-based Oceanco and scheduled to be completed soon, measures 417 feet long and must pass through Rotterdam, under its landmark bridge, to reach its owner, NL Times reported . The problem? The Koninginnebrug bridge, a steel bridge nicknamed De Hef, isn't tall enough to accommodate the ship's three masts, which exceed the 130 feet of clearance the bridge offers.   

Dutch press reports said that the city would remove the central section of the bridge to make way for the yacht, the largest ever built in the Netherlands. 

At this point in time, city officials in Rotterdam, who have been in contact with Oceanco regarding the construction of the superyacht, only know that "there is a big ship that has to go through the ocean some day," a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch, adding that they anticipate receiving a request to make room for the boat to pass under the bridge. 

The spokesperson noted that the city has in the past had to deconstruct parts of the bridge to accommodate large vessels. 

"This is not the first time we have to do something about this bridge so that a big ship can go through. Once every few years a big ship has to go through to the other side," the spokesperson said. "So it's not unusual, in a way."

Rotterdam officials were said to have yielded to the billionaire, the world's  second-richest person , given the significance of the project to the local economy. Rotterdam council project leader Marcel Walravens called the construction of the superyacht "a very important project" economically, according to local broadcaster Rijnmond . Dismantling the bridge was the "only alternative," he said. 

Oceanco had agreed to pay for the cost of dismantling operation, Rotterdam spokesperson Frances Van Heijst told the NL Times. It's unclear if Bezos, who is worth roughly $176 billion , would pay for any of the disassembly cost.

The shipbuilder did not respond to a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch. 

Aboutaleb, the mayor, said the controversial undertaking remains under consideration, but that Bezos still lacks the official approval to move forward. He also said Bezos' wealth and status will not influence his decision. 

"That has absolutely nothing do with this decision. It's about the facts. I want to know them first," Aboutaleb told the Dutch language newspaper.

"It's not an issue of what is going through the bridge," the city spokesperson reiterated. "It's not like if it's a ship for Mr. Bezos all of a sudden the rules are changing. But if there is a call for a permit, we will make a decision based on facts and not emotions. But we are not at that stage at this moment," the spokesperson said.

Some locals oppose altering the bridge on behalf of one of the richest people on the planet. Protesters have organized an event on Facebook at which they vowed to gather to throw eggs at Bezos' yacht when it passes under the bridge, scheduled for June. 

"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!!" event organizers wrote on Facebook. 

• Netherlands

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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Historic landmark bridge in Netherlands to be dismantled so Jeff Bezos' mega-yacht can pass

After finishing construction on his $485 million super yacht, Jeff Bezos will pay for Rotterdam to partially remove a nearly 145-year-old bridge so he can sail it out.

The former Amazon CEO's yacht, Y721, is virtually finished at the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam near Rotterdam, but the vessel is too enormous to sail off with the bridge as it is. So the builders requested that the central part of the bridge be removed to allow the yacht to pass, FOX News reported .

According to FOX News, billionaire Bezos, 57, will foot the tab for the operation. The super yacht, which will be Oceanco's largest and one of the world's largest, will need at least a 130-foot clearance to get through.

The Koningshaven Bridge, also known as De Hef by locals, was completed in 1878 but was bombed by Nazis in 1940 during World War II. After repeated traffic delays and collisions, the local council decided to replace the original swing bridge design with a lifting bridge.

In 2017, the local council completed a significant bridge repair and committed not to dismantle it again.

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Jeff Bezos' megayacht was quietly towed from a Dutch shipyard after the company building it scrapped a request to dismantle a historic bridge to let it pass — watch the video

• Bezos' yacht was moved from a Dutch shipyard before dawn Tuesday, likely to avoid local attention.
• After public outcry from locals, it did not involve the dismantling of a historic bridge.
• Watch Bezos' yacht make its journey.

Jeff Bezos' megayacht has quietly left the Dutch shipyard where it was built, sans a bridge dismantling and crowds of spectators.

The 417-foot vessel , known as Y721 and estimated to cost $500 million, has been under construction by the shipbuilding company Oceanco in a shipyard in Alblasserdam, Netherlands. It was towed to the Greenport shipyard in Rotterdam in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel .

The controversy surrounding Bezos' yacht began in February, when Oceanco requested the city of Rotterdam dismantle the Koningshaven Bridge to allow the vessel to pass through the city. Known colloquially as De Hef, the beloved bridge is considered something of a landmark by locals. It's nearly 100 years old. Upon completion, the yacht will have three masts too tall for the bridge's clearance, which is about 131 feet.

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Dutch residents were outraged and planned an event to throw eggs at Bezos' yacht if it required the bridge to be dismantled for its passage. Within days, Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said no decision had been made to dismantle the bridge and that Bezos or Oceanco might need to foot the bill if it happened.

Earlier this month, Oceanco withdrew its request for the dismantling after the public outcry.

Hanco Bol, a local yachting enthusiast from the yacht fan club Dutch Yachting, saw and recorded a video of Tuesday's relocation, which he posted on YouTube, Der Spiegel reported. He said preparations for the move started about 1 a.m. and the yacht departed at 3 a.m.

Bol speculated Oceanco "tried to keep the launch and transport under wraps" because the vessel took a route that was longer than necessary but avoided going through the city center and past the Koningshaven Bridge.

"We never saw a transport going that fast," he wrote in the caption of his YouTube video, adding that Bezos' yacht arrived at the Greenport shipyard three hours and 24 miles later.

On its voyage Tuesday morning, Bezos' yacht was towed without its masts, which will be installed later, Der Spiegel reported.

Watch the video of Bezos' yacht moving shipyards here:

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Jeff Bezos paid for his megayacht to pass under a bridge in Europe while over a third of America’s are falling apart

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has an interest in bridge infrastructure.

The billionaire, currently the world’s second-richest man, will pay the Dutch city of Rotterdam to dismantle and then rebuild part of a historic 95-year-old bridge to allow his new superyacht, the world’s tallest, to pass through it and out to sea. 

It’s a move that lies in stark contrast with bridge infrastructure in Bezos’s home country: the United States.

A new study by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) finds that 36% of U.S. bridges, nearly 224,000 in all, need repairs. More than 43,500 of these bridges are now classified as “structurally deficient,” and motorists in the country risk their lives as they cross these deficient structures 167.5 million times each day. 

The estimated cost to replace all the structurally deficient bridges in the U.S. is about $58 billion, based on average price data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. With a net worth of $176.5 billion, Bezos could replace all of those bridges, buy his superyacht, and still have $118 billion left. 

While the city of Rotterdam doesn’t yet have an assessment of how much it would cost to deconstruct the bridge, Bezos’s three-mast sailing yacht will be the world’s largest when completed this summer at 417 feet long , and it’s estimated to cost about $500 million. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law last November, would provide states with new resources to make bridge repairs to the tune of $88 billion. But that money is stuck because Congress has not yet enacted a full-year 2022 budget. The current continuing resolution holds spending for federal repair programs flat at FY 2021 levels and is set to expire on Feb. 18. 

“The longer it takes to bridge the political divide on the FY 2022 spending bills, the longer it will take for transportation improvements to get started,” ARTBA president and CEO Dave Bauer said. “We urge Congress to act forthwith so that the American people can begin to realize the benefits of the historic investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law.”

Bezos supported the Biden-backed infrastructure plan—it greatly benefits the delivery routes, ports, and broadband internet on which Amazon depends. “We support the Biden administration’s focus on making bold investments in American infrastructure,” Bezos said in a statement posted on Amazon’s website . “We look forward to Congress and the administration coming together to find the right, balanced solution.”

On Nov. 5, 2021, the day the infrastructure bill passed Congress, Jeff Bezos sold $1.3 billion in Amazon.com stock .

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Much like Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ $500 million superyacht offers every bell and whistle imaginable, from A to Z.

The colossal, triple-masted Koru began its career serving the world’s third richest man this week, cruising the Mediterranean around Mallorca.

The 417-foot schooner first left Rotterdam in the Netherlands for sea trials in February. Dropping anchor in Mallorca put its jaw-dropping size on full display.

It also showed the extent of Bezos’ fleet: Not only did the Koru sail into harbor, so did its support vessel, Abeona, a mega-boat in its own right, the luxurious fast-launches used to move between the two — and aerial support in the form of his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez’s personal helicopter.

Sanchez also seemingly serves the fleet’s mascot, with the Koru’s figurehead, a part of traditional large sailing ships, modeled after her.

The Koru is the world’s tallest sailing yacht. Its three huge 229-foot masts power it to 20 knots. It’s also the biggest billionaire’s yacht which can move under sail-power alone.

The masts are so tall that Dutch officials considered dismantling the 95-year-old Koningshaven Bridge to allow the vessel past the 131-foot span on its journey from the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam through Rotterdam to the North Sea.

That controversial plan was scrapped after local backlash, including residents being urged to toss eggs at Bezos’ “latest toy,”  the New York Times reported . The superyacht, previously known as Y721, was instead towed to a shipyard in Rotterdam, downstream of the bridge, without its masts.

Bezos, 59, and the bikini-clad Sanchez, 53, appeared ready for the summer as the pair soaked up the sun aboard Koru, a Māori word for loop or coil that symbolizes new beginnings — possibly a coy reference to their relationship.

Sanchez started secretly dating the Blue Origin founder in the summer of 2018. Bezos then announced in January 2019 he and his wife Mackenzie were divorcing after 25 years , while Sanchez finalized her split from husband Patrick Whitesell later that year.

Sanchez plays a critical role in the Bezos fleet: As a helicopter pilot, she was seen landing on the Abeona. She was also at Bezos’ side when he took the wheel of the Koru.

Koru was first seen under construction in 2021 at Oceano’s yard. The company is owned by a fellow billionaire, Oman’s Mohammed Al Barwani.

As many as 18 guests can enjoy the yacht’s three outdoor decks, including one with two pools. The vessel, which has a crew of up to 36, also boasts a cinema, meeting spaces and lounges,  Luxuo reported .

Every detail is designed for luxury, even down to the masts’ technology.

Bezos opted for high-tech “in-boom furlers,” which store the vast canvases at the bottom of the mast, above the deck. Each weighs nearly 2,000 pounds, but they allow his deck to be kept clear of ropes.

Clearing ropes out of the way maximizes entertaining space, and allows for a hot tub forward of the mainmast.

The yacht is also built for speed. Its three masts provide “one of the largest sail areas ever seen in yachting,”  according to SuperYacht Times .

The Koru’s original designer, and the identity of its captain, remain secret. Boat International noted : “With the elegant curve of the bow and a bowsprit, the lines are certainly classic, but we still have no idea which designer drew them.”

The Cayman Islands-flagged vessel also has engine power like most sailing yachts.

And while other billionaires measure yachts by size, Bezos’ is only the 24th largest.

However, since Koru’s masts rule out a helicopter deck, the billionaire commissioned a support vessel, Abeona, named for the Roman goddess of outward journeys.

In addition to a helipad, the 246-foot Abeona features an extra two staterooms for four guests and as many as 45 crew and support staff.

It’s the largest custom-built support vessel ever manufactured by Damen Yachting. On board in Mallorca were at least four jetskis, two fast launches, and an additional dinghy. Its heavy winch is capable of lifting a small submarine, although Bezos is not believed to have one thus far.

The “classic exterior lines” of Koru, are reminiscent of another billionaire’s boat: Eos, a 305-foot sailing yacht owned by Barry Diller, 81, who may have inspired Bezos after hosting him on the vessel.

Favored by megastars like Katy Perry and Bradley Cooper — who were Diller’s guests during 2019’s Google Camp in Sicily — the German-built Eos can accommodate up to 16 guests and 21 crew.

It was the largest private sailing yacht in the world when it was completed in 2006. Diller, chairman of IAC and Expedia, who is worth $3.9 billion, bought it three years later. Intriguingly, its figurehead is modeled on Diller’s wife Diane von Fürstenberg, the fashion designer.

But the $200 million, 305-foot schooner is now dwarfed by Bezos’ boat.

As Koru sailed in the Balearic Sea this week off the coast of Spain, Bezos’ boat symbolically surges past several other tech billionaires’ vessels – including Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s $80 million, 240-foot Dragonfly, and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s, $160 million, 288-foot Musashi.

It will cost Bezos, 59, an estimated $25 million per year to operate Koru, but the world’s third-richest man isn’t likely to need a loan with his $140.6 billion fortune,  according to Forbes .

Bezos’ use of sailpower sets him apart from most billionaires, but others are seeking a hi-tech zero-carbon power source: a Japanese billionaire has reportedly commissioned the world’s first hydrogen-powered superyacht.

Germany’s Lürssen Yachts announced in March that they had a hydrogen-powered superyacht in advanced construction.

It declined to identify the future owner of the unnamed superyacht, but specialist publication FuelCellsWorks reported Japanese billionaire tech Yusaku Maezawa, worth an estimated $1.7 billion, commissioned the innovative effort.

Dubbed Project Cosmos, the 374-foot superyacht is designed by Apple’s legendary Marc Newson and was first unveiled in early March at Lürssen’s facility in Rendsburg, Germany.

Once completed as soon as next year, the vessel is expected to utilize emission-free fuel cell technology to generate power lasting up to 15 days while anchored or to travel as far as 1,000 miles at slow speeds.

Three other major shipyards, including in Italy and the Netherlands, are likely to launch their own hydrogen started outfitting newly constructed vessels with hydrogen fuel cells as of March 2022, with the first models reportedly expected in 2024.

Other megayachts expected to soon join Bezos’ Koru in the water include two Lürssen models, the 475-foot Luminance and the 400-foot Jag, and Feadship 821, a 389-foot offering from the Netherlands manufacturer.

But even those won’t best the biggest megayacht in the world, the 593-foot Azzam, which launched in 2013 after being commissioned by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates who died last year.

Azzam, which means determination in Arabic, reportedly cost more than $600 million and is nearly 60 feet longer than the world’s second-largest yacht, the 533-foot Eclipse, owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Those monster vessels are expected to be surpassed next year by REV, a 600-foot yacht under construction in Norway which will have space for 36 guests and 54 crewmembers, according to Boat International .