Shipbuilder Oceanco from Alblasserdam will not submit an application to the municipality of Rotterdam to temporarily dismantle the Koningshavenbrug. The center section of the bridge, popularly known as De Hef, would have to be removed to allow passage for a yacht owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, which Oceanco is currently building.
Responsible alderman Vincent Karremans has received a letter from Oceanco in which the company reports that it will not apply for the removal of the fall section of the bridge for the time being. With a maximum vertical clearance of over 46 metres, De Hef is not high enough for the mega yacht to pass underneath.
According to newspaper Fidelity, which invoked the Freedom of Information Act, Oceanco is shocked by the fuss that has arisen about the application and construction of the ship estimated to cost 500 million euros. The company would feel threatened and fear vandalism. No one was available at the shipbuilder on Thursday to respond to that message.
In February of this year there was a fuss about the yacht and the passage in Rotterdam. Some Rotterdammers expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the bridge had to be dismantled for Bezos’ yacht. Calls were made on social media to throw eggs at the ship during the passage.
It is not known how the shipbuilder will now finish the boat. One possibility is to do this in a place where the three-master can sail unimpeded towards open water.
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