Jeff Bezos’ $485 Million Escape to South Holland – Robb Reports

After quite controversy, the multi-million dollar giant Jeff Bezos had a very quiet escape.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the $485 million epic ship was towed away from the Uchenko shipyard in Alblasserdam where it was being built to a port in Rotterdam, Marine Industry News reported. It appears to be a counter-climate ending to the months-long “Bridget” saga.

For the uninitiated, the Amazon founder sparked outrage last February when Oceanco asked Rotterdam’s historic Koningshaven Bridge to be dismantled to allow it to pass. See, 417 feet, otherwise known as Y271, the 144-year-old bridge exceeded clearance of 131 feet even without its 229-foot-tall masts. The solution was to temporarily dismantle the midsection from de heavy.

Suffice it to say, the locals of Rotterdam were not happy with the idea. Thousands of residents have even gone so far as to commit to hitting the billionaire’s schooner in protest. After public outcry, Oceanco withdrew its request to dismantle the bridge. And lo and behold, Y271 still managed to escape.

Local yacht enthusiast Hanko Paul witnessed the yacht slip away at 3am on August 2 and later posted a video of the three-hour voyage on YouTube. Paul speculated that Oceanco chose an alternate route (we’re guessing one with fewer bridges) to keep the launch and transportation undercover. The yacht reportedly had an average speed of 8 knots and reached the port of Rotterdam at 6 am. By Paul’s account, it was a quiet and swift ride.

“We’ve never seen a vehicle go so fast,” reads the post on YouTube.

Oceanco has been locked down on the mega yacht and has not responded immediately Rob’s reportrequest for comment. Upon completion, the Y271 will not only be the largest luxury yacht in the Netherlands to date, but also the largest sailing yacht in the world. It may also be more controversial.