The huge new superyacht of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the second richest man in the world, is nearing completion, but getting it to its owner will require knocking down a bridge. The 417 foot long sailing yachtcodenamed Y721, is being built by Oceanco, based in Alblasserdam, the Netherlands.
For the ship to reach the ocean, it will have to pass through the city of Rotterdam and navigate through an iconic steel bridge known as De Hef. The drawbridge can be raised more than 130 feet into the air, but it’s still not tall enough to accommodate the yacht’s three giant masts. So the city has agreed to temporarily disassemble the center section of the bridge this summer for Bezos’ yacht to pass through, according to Frances van Heijst, a Rotterdam spokeswoman.
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Jeff Bezos’ new superyacht heralds a roaring market for large ships. The Y721 will be one of the largest sailing yachts ever built in the Netherlands, the unofficial capital of shipbuilding for the wealthy.
Rotterdam council project leader Marcel Walravens defended the city’s decision to allow the bridge to be dismantled, telling local broadcaster Rijnmond it was the “only alternative” to complete what the municipality considers “a very important project” financially.
Oceancoand not the city, will pay the cost of demolishing the bridgevan Heijst said. Some of those costs are likely to be passed on to Bezos, the world’s second-richest person with a net worth of $175.8 billionaccording to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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De Hef is considered an icon of Rotterdam’s industrial heritage as a shipbuilding center and news of its partial demolition has caused a stir among locals.
“This man has made his money by structurally downsizing, evading taxes, circumventing regulations and now we have to tear down our beautiful national monumentRotterdam politician Stephan Leewis wrote on Twitter. “That’s really going too far,” he added.
It’s not the first headache caused by the Y721’s tall masts. The enormity of the yacht’s sails will make it unsafe to land a helicopter on board, so Bezos has ordered a support yacht equipped with a helipad to accompany him.
Rising levels of personal wealth drove superyacht sales to record levels last year. A total of 887 such vessels were sold in 2021, a 77% increase from the previous year and more than double the number in 2019, according to a report by maritime data firm VesselsValue.
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Shipbuilder Burgess reported more than €2 billion ($2.3 billion) in superyacht sales last year.
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