Netherlands thoughtlessly puts historic bridge between the King of Earth's megayacht and the sea

fooferdoggie

fooferdoggie

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if we need another reason to hate on besos. like he could nto use a place who could handle the super slug.

Netherlands to dismantle historic bridge for Jeff Bezos' megayacht​

A historic, iconic bridge in Rotterdam is to be temporarily taken down so Jeff Bezos' enormous yacht can reach the sea. Locals are worried about the risk of damage to the monument.
www.dw.com

Dutch to dismantle bridge for Bezos' megayacht – DW – 02/02/2022

A historic, iconic bridge in Rotterdam is to be temporarily taken down so Jeff Bezos' enormous yacht can reach the sea. Locals are worried about the risk of damage to the monument.
www.dw.com www.dw.com
 
SuperMatt

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fooferdoggie said:
if we need another reason to hate on besos. like he could nto use a place who could handle the super slug.

Netherlands to dismantle historic bridge for Jeff Bezos' megayacht​

A historic, iconic bridge in Rotterdam is to be temporarily taken down so Jeff Bezos' enormous yacht can reach the sea. Locals are worried about the risk of damage to the monument.
www.dw.com

Dutch to dismantle bridge for Bezos' megayacht – DW – 02/02/2022

A historic, iconic bridge in Rotterdam is to be temporarily taken down so Jeff Bezos' enormous yacht can reach the sea. Locals are worried about the risk of damage to the monument.
www.dw.com www.dw.com
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This line repeats itself anytime they make excuses for rich jerks:

The Rotterdam mayor's office defended the special privileges afforded to the billionaire, saying the construction of the megayacht had created jobs in the city.
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Murderers create jobs too... for the police, coroner, funeral home, etc... I guess we should excuse murder too.
 
lizkat

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There are now so many billionaires having custom yachts built that shipyards can't accommodate all the orders, so there are wait-lists, and the old tradition of building one "on spec" in slow times to keep skilled labor on tap has completely vanished.

www.cnbc.com

Superyacht building boom creates a supply crunch and crew shortage for ultrarich buyers

Shipyards are straining to keep up with demand for superyachts. Wealthy buyers are being told they have to wait three to five years for their custom orders.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com
 
lizkat

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So this is the billionaire's solution to the fact that when push comes to shove, "no wall high enough" ?? Move the palace onto the ocean?

These guys may not realize what an unforgiving home the ocean can be for creatures not born to live within its depths. I suppose they can be forgiven that, what with all the accoutrements of the modern-day half-a-billion-bucks super-yacht. Stuff like helicopter pads, gyms, swimming pools and whatever else lies on and within the stern of a mega-yacht could probably make one forget the extra vulnerability of life on the surface of the sea.

As for that bridge, maybe that Dutch municipality should consider asking a consortium of yacht buyers to pitch in for a permanent fix to the bridge that makes it able to swing out and let pass these monster yachts when they are emerging from their shipyards... since the world seems reluctant to rein in the excesses of capitalism (by whatever name it goes in some venues) any time soon.
 
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It’s crazy in my mind to build a ship in a shipyard that is too big to access the open ocean without disassembling a bridge.

I’m curious if it’s the masts that won’t fit under the bridge or the hull and superstructure itself- have no idea how 500ft sailing mega yachts are constructed, but typically masts are removable… but maybe in fact the yacht is just too tall even without the masts.

While Bezos is getting the all blame here and I would agree it’s rather insensitive to push for this type of situation, especially for such a vanity project. But the local government should receive some criticism because ultimately they allowed this to happen, presumably in exchange for money. They could have easily said no. And I say this not being particularly fond of Bezos.

At the same time, assuming the government was paid, hopefully that money will go to good use. At the very least, he’s employing probably hundreds of workers. When it comes to more affordable boats that aren’t pumped out on an assembly line , European manufacturers have struggle to stay afloat (pub intentended) due to cheaper labor rates abroad and many do build their boats abroad. I believe commercial ship builders are have similar issues plus anti competition regulations within the EU. I imagine this was a big consideration for the Dutch government.

America is in the same boat (pun intended, again) with its commercial shipbuilding. After WWII we were a leader in the industry, today 90% of merchant ships are built in Asia.

Anyways, it’s unfortunate that a historic monument has to be deconstructed for such a stupid reason. Bezos probably could have paid any shipyard to build his yacht and I’m sure enough money gets you to the front of the line, if not his name alone.

I will say the Dutch build absolutely fantastic sailboats, so in that sense Jeff made a good decision. But a super yacht is not the type of sailing I’m interested in at all.
 
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lizkat said:
So this is the billionaire's solution to the fact that when push comes to shove, "no wall high enough" ?? Move the palace onto the ocean?

These guys may not realize what an unforgiving home the ocean can be for creatures not born to live within its depths. I suppose they can be forgiven that, what with all the accoutrements of the modern-day half-a-billion-bucks super-yacht. Stuff like helicopter pads, gyms, swimming pools and whatever else lies on and within the stern of a mega-yacht could probably make one forget the extra vulnerability of life on the surface of the sea.

As for that bridge, maybe that Dutch municipality should consider asking a consortium of yacht buyers to pitch in for a permanent fix to the bridge that makes it able to swing out and let pass these monster yachts when they are emerging from their shipyards... since the world seems reluctant to rein in the excesses of capitalism (by whatever name it goes in some venues) any time soon.
Click to expand...

The crazy thing about most super yachts is that they’re not blue water capable, meaning they’re not designed for sailing in open ocean, let alone be at sea for more than maybe a week before having to stop back in port. If someone wants to bring their super yacht from the Mediterranean to Miami, it has to get loaded up on a giant ship- and people do pay for this all the time. Seems silly to me to spend all that money on a boat that can’t actually go anywhere.
 
chengengaun

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The Rotterdam mayor's office defended the special privileges afforded to the billionaire, saying the construction of the megayacht had created jobs in the city.
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Sometimes the description "create jobs" is used as if the customer set up the shipyard and the ancillary industries, brought in the know-how and hired and trained the workers. The one-time spending of buying a yacht is likely to have a very small multiplier effect on local economy - how many % of the spending goes to local employees?

SuperMatt said:
Murderers create jobs too... for the police, coroner, funeral home, etc... I guess we should excuse murder too.
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Oh yes. The Italians learned that the hard way.

Mafia and Public Spending: Evidence on the Fiscal Multiplier from a Quasi-Experiment on JSTOR

Antonio Acconcia, Giancarlo Corsetti, Saverio Simonelli, Mafia and Public Spending: Evidence on the Fiscal Multiplier from a Quasi-Experiment, The American Economic Review, Vol. 104, No. 7 (JULY 2014), pp. 2185-2209
www.jstor.org www.jstor.org
A law issued to combat political corruption and Mafia infiltration of city councils in Italy has resulted in episodes of large, unanticipated, temporary contractions in local public spending. Using these episodes as instruments, we estimate the output multiplier of spending cut at provincial level... to be 1.5. Assuming that the lagged spending is exogenous to current output brings the estimate of the overall multiplier to 1.9.
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When the government of a municipality is dismissed on evidence of Mafia infiltration, the external commissioners appointed by the central government typically cut financial flows into local public works and investment projects.
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The Mafia may downsize or close down activities that were previously generating value added, then causing output losses. ...
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Nah, while I wish there is a sensational conclusion, removing corrupt officials and Mafia ultimately improved local employment and incomes, but dismissing city council officials caused sharp economic contraction in the short run. That being said, it is easy to see why corruption can be tolerated as a matter of expediency...
 
Herdfan

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NT1440 said:
I’d still like to see every mega yacht at the bottom of the ocean where they belong.
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Do you plan on employing those who will lose their jobs building them? Or those who make a living by working on them? ☹️
 
SuperMatt

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Herdfan said:
Do you plan on employing those who will lose their jobs building them? Or those who make a living by working on them? ☹️
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Let’s say we end all crime. That’s a lot of unemployed policemen! Let’s say we eliminate cancer. Think of all the lost healthcare jobs there! What if we perfect nuclear fusion techniques for nearly limitless electricity production and no longer need any fossil fuels? Oh noes! What will happen to the oil rig workers, coal miners, etc?

Sorry, the “what about the lost jobs” talking point is utter and complete 🐴💩, as pointed out multiple times in this thread and elsewhere on the forum. That tired, worn-out, thoroughly-debunked talking point should be put out of its misery.

One industry fails, another takes its place. Think of the industries that were prospering 100 years ago. Where are they now?
 
N

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Herdfan said:
Do you plan on employing those who will lose their jobs building them? Or those who make a living by working on them? ☹️
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This is a fools errand. We should be eliminating nuclear weapons from the planet, but they provide jobs so I guess we’ll never be able to do the right thing.

I guess we can never get rid of parasitic insurance industry as well, meaning no universal healthcare, because it basically employs my state.

Can’t make lives better because industry has an ace card via employment. Pack it in, we can’t ever end systemic problems because the system is built on top of those problems. Can the last one exiting America remember to turn off the lights?

The wealth required to build a mega yacht should never be allowed to be in a single person’s hands, period.
 
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Yoused said:
It would be especially funny if it turned out to be too big to fit into any harbours but could only linger nearby while using gigs to resupply.


Anyone remember the time Paul Allen's megayacht tore up a reef?
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Well if you think about places like the Bahamas, it is well known for having shallow water and dangerous reefs. Obviously there are routes for ships with large drafts, but for those who want to go off of commercial routes, explore small islands, etc, having too large a draft can be a problem for sailboats a fraction of the size as his.

That said I’m sure his boat like many super yachts will have a collection of smaller boats to accommodate his needs.
 
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