Last Wednesday, it was widely reported that Rotterdam would dismantle the center span of a historic railroad bridge to allow the 417-foot-long, three-masted sailing yacht built for billionaire Jeff Bezos to access the sea. The fully rigged superyacht apparently has too great an air-draft to safely fit beneath the Koningshaven Bridge, which has a clearance of 131 feet over the Nieuwe Maas River. 

On Thursday, the City of Rotterdam walked back plans to dismantle the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as De Hef, saying that a decision had not yet been made.

“The company that built the ship didn’t yet ask for a permit so there is not an issue at this moment. When they ask for the permit, then we have to make a decision if we allow it or not, and how, and things like that,” the spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.

Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb also denied earlier press reports, telling Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad that “No decision has been made yet,” noting that neither Bezos nor his yacht’s maker have applied for a permit to take down part of the bridge. 

When completed, Bezos’ vessel will be the world’s largest sailing yacht, although still smaller than the square-rigged cruise ships Royal Clipper and Golden Horizon.  The yacht, costing an estimated $500 million, is nearing completion at the Oceanco shipyard in the nearby city of Alblasserdam.

The Washington Post reports that the railway bridge, De Hef, was originally built in 1927  and the first of its kind in Western Europe, with a central span that could be lifted to allow ship traffic to pass underneath. It was decommissioned in 1994 after being replaced by a tunnel, but later declared a national monument. The bridge underwent a major restoration from 2014 to 2017, after which the city said it would not be dismantled again.

Should permission be granted to dismantle the bridge, the New York Times reports that as of Thursday, more than 600 Facebook users said they would attend an event, titled “Throwing eggs at superyacht Jeff Bezos,” where they plan to gather by the bridge to throw eggs at the boat.

Thanks to Dick Kooyman for contributing to this post.