The "De Hef" bridge facing the fortune of Jeff Bezos and the masts of his superyacht
In Rotterdam, the "King's Harbour Bridge" may be partly dismantled to let "Y721", the gigantic yacht ordered by the American billionaire to the Oceanco shipyards, pass.
It withstood the terrible German bombings of 1940, it may not withstand the might of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. The Koningshavenbrug ("King's Harbour Bridge"), better known as "De Hef" - short for "hefbrug", "lift bridge" - to all Rotterdammers, may be partly dismantled to let Y721, the gigantic yacht ordered by the American billionaire from the Oceanco shipyards in Alblasserdam, in the south of the Netherlands, pass.
With its 46.5-meter high central structure, De Hef, a listed national monument, is an obstacle in the shipping route of the 127-meter long boat, equipped with three gigantic masts. Y721 is indeed a huge sailing ship - but it should be equipped with emergency diesel engines.
Questioned on Wednesday, February 2, a spokesman for the city hall of the large port city confirmed the information given by a regional television station: yes, the old railway bridge, which found its current shape in 1927, will be dismantled in the summer. Even if it means going back on a promise made to the inhabitants, who are very attached to this symbol of their city: there is no question of ever touching De Hef, they had been told in 2017, after a renovation operation.
Embarrassing case for the city hall
The announcement, also of great symbolic significance, quickly made the rounds and on Thursday, February 3, Ahmed Aboutaleb, the social-democrat mayor of Rotterdam, corrected the situation: he told the daily AD that he had not yet received any official request and that he intended to weigh up the pros and cons. He told the daily AD that he had not yet received any official request and that he would consider the pros and cons: "The economic interest, with the image of our region on the maritime level, and the technical aspect: can we avoid damage? We also want to know if the costs will be assumed by the buyer. It would be, indeed, to quickly rebuild the bridge structure after the passage of the superyacht.
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9 comments:
I hate that fucking bastard! I hope they don't budge or give in. Otherwise it will be another cry baby elite getting his way....and he's not even a citizen for God sake. I've not heard of something so absurd in all my life and is the most asinine demand I've ever heard.
Wow. He's basically writing a how to book... How to become the most hated man in the world. F him. Hope his boat sinks. Whatta dickhead!
I agree. I prefer demands like the one time when The Beatles had the Harrods superstore in London to open only for them at night just so they could do their Christmas shopping quietly. I would have gladly volunteered to be their guide among the shop’s aisles :-)
I do hope that this Bezos’ yacht receives tons of rotten eggs before reaching the sea - and maybe some reckless guys will succeed at throwing some of these eggs at him during a public appearance?
Seems like somebody should've realized that this asshole's fucking yacht wouldn't fit once assembled? I'd tell him build a smaller boat or fuck off! Privileged dick that he is...
@hsgisme: This is not Sweeden, this is The Netherlands after all, and Dutch have a long practice when it comes to dealing with money and make it flourish ;-)
So I wouldn't be surprised if someone at the Mayor's Office were soon to be suspected for tooking a bribe in the matter. Time will tell...
Yet another example of extreme wealth that needs to be fitted for a guillotine.
@Rick: I grew up learning about the French Revolution and Terror period, and the guillotine seemed to be so barbaric. In the here and now? Not so much indeed...
While I dislike Jeff Bezos because I find him very hypocritical since he has the money to fix things instead of just complaining, the fault here is with the shipyard who apparently didn't know about the 100 year old bridge in their own area.
Eat the rich... the most hated man in the world...
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