A mega barge is not enough Jeff Bezos' companion yacht is already setting sail

One superyacht is not enough for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Now his "shadow ship" has set sail to support his 500 million dollar sailing yacht.

There is good news for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Although his mail-order company has just had to announce the dismissal of 18,000 employees, Bezos, who has retired from active company management, should not be too bothered by this.

He will probably finally be able to set sail this year with the 127-metre-long superyacht Koru, as a yacht built to support him has now also been completed.

However, not everything has gone smoothly so far, as the "Koru" (also known as the Y721) hit the headlines last year. Originally, the shipyard wanted a historic bridge in the port of Rotterdam to be dismantled so that the sailing yacht, which cost 500 million, could sail out to sea with its three huge masts.

"Wingman" offers space for helicopters

After massive protests from the local population, the shipbuilding company abandoned this plan and finally towed the "Koru" out of the port of Rotterdam without its masts in August 2022 so that the yacht could be completed elsewhere.

However, these three masts also make it impossible for helicopters to land on the yacht. For this reason, Bezos immediately commissioned a secondary yacht for 75 million dollars. And the "Wingman" is already sailing the seas.

A barge for the staff

The "Wingman" is a so-called shadow vessel, which always travels in tandem with the mother ship. The Wingman is a classic motor yacht and therefore also has enough space for a helicopter landing pad. The temporary yacht can also transport jet skis and cars.

It also has accommodation for 37 crew members so that Bezos and his guests have the main yacht to themselves. The "Wingman" set sail on its first test voyage at the end of December and is expected to be delivered to Bezos soon.