Another ship that doesn't fit! Bezos' ship stuck at Rotterdam

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Former Amazon CEO and richest man alive, Jeff Bezos commissioned Dutch ship builders to make him a gigantic pleasure yacht. One problem, the ship is so large that it cannot pass under the Koningshaven Bridge in Rotterdam. The iconic bridge, also known as "De Hef", has to be temporarily dismantled so that Bezos' yacht can pass through it. Rotterdam municipality is willing to grant this request, much to the annoyance of locals. Why? This iconic bridge was heavily damaged during the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940, which saw almost the entirety of the city centre of Rotterdam razed to the ground. The bridge was quickly restored and was used until 1993. Since then the bridge is regarded as national monument and saw restoration work in 2017. After the restoration the municipality of Rotterdam promised to never take apart the bridge again.

Even though Rotterdam is the maritime capital of Europe, and shipbuilding is part of the activity of the maritime sector, locals aren't happy with the decision to take apart the bridge. Jeff Bezos will be reimbursed for the costs of dismantling the bridge. Apparently money can buy you really anything, like even taking apart a national heritage 


Image courtesy of Wikipedia