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The journey that a superyacht must take from the shipyard to the sea often includes missing bridges by mere inches as it passes through.

In the case of Jeff Bezos, though, it includes the possibility of dismantling a section of a 140-year-old bridge (see above) to make way for his precious cargo.

Well, local residents are up in arms about this, threatening to pelt Bezos’ $500 million superyacht with rotten eggs if the council approves plans to take the bridge apart.

The plan is to temporarily remove a part of the Koningshaven Bridge (which locals refer to as “De Hef”) so that Bezos’ 127-metre-high Y721 and its three large masts can squeeze through with enough clearance:

Image: Reuters

Dutch preservationists and Rotterdam residents are discussing their rebellion on Facebook, saying that the silly plan is turning out to be a success, per The New York Post:

Pablo Strörmann, 40, circulated an invite on Facebook urging locals to take action by bringing a case of rotten eggs with them if the yacht makes its way through the waterway.

“Rotterdam was built from the rubble by Rotterdammers and we don’t just take it apart for the phallus symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire,” Strörmann wrote on Facebook, as reported by the Dutch daily BN DeStem. “Not without a fight.”

The Facebook event, which Strörmann reportedly acknowledged as being “not too serious,” has drawn attention from almost 3 000 people who said they will attend while another 10 000 have indicated that they’re “interested.”

Strörmann mobilised “because I’m a Rotterdammer and I think people with a lot of money should realise that you can’t make everything” go your way.

I mean yes, but also, unfortunately, no.

While the mayor of Rotterdam is denying that a final decision has been made to accommodate Bezos’ yacht, and the city council apparently promised residents that the bridge would not be tampered with after renovations in 2017, the plan seems to be going full steam ahead.

The Dutch shipbuilding company which built the yacht, Oceanco, along with Bezos, have said that they will cover all the costs of the dismantling because it is the only way to get the thing out to sea.

Image: Reuters

There’s also an argument that the project could generate a nice amount of revenue for the local municipality, creating jobs and supporting the shipbuilding industry, which is an important part of their economy.

Either way, Strörmann and co. should definitely get their rotten eggs ready. There are people all over the world who would tune in for that.

[source:nypost]