At the end of March, Rijkswaterstaat let three luxury, brand new yachts sailed through the broken lock at Lith, for fear of a claim from shipbuilder Heesen Yachts from Oss. This is apparent from documents that Omroep Brabant has requested by appealing to the Open Government Act (WOO). All other shipping traffic can no longer sail via Lith for months, but for these expensive yachts a special construction was even set in the broken lock.
Since February 18, there is no more sailing traffic due to the large lock at Lith. A large cargo ship then bumped into the lock gates, causing them to be damaged. But on March 31, Rijkswaterstaat made an exception for three luxury yachts, so that the fifty -meter -long ships could still sail on.
Due to the accident, the damaged lock doors had to be removed from Lith. A steel construction was built especially for the super yachts with bulkheads that were hoisted in and out of the canal. This way the luxury yachts could still sail through the lock. There was no different route or passage.
Fear of claim
The builder of the yachts, Heesen Yachts from Oss, insisted on Rijkswaterstaat to let the yachts through. There would be a ‘great economic interest’ and therefore the ships had to go through the lock on time. On the day of the operation, Rijkswaterstaat claimed that the decision was made because the delivery of the ships for the region was economically important.
The requested documents now show that this is not the full story. Officials feared that Heesen would recover economic damage from the company that damaged the lock. That company must pay a fixed amount in compensation, because it is arranged in this way by law. Everyone who wants to recover damage receives an amount from that pot.
On these images you see the yachts sailing through the lock:
With that money, Rijkswaterstaat wants to pay for the recovery of the lock and feared that less would be left. Heesen’s claim would be greater than the costs for passing the ships. Moreover, the company would be willing to pay for the operation, the civil servants of Rijkswaterstaat reasoned. So win-win situation, was the conclusion. Both parties then decided to throw it at an agreement.
Amounts painted
What also played for civil servants is that it would be good for Rijkswaterstaat’s image if the government organization cooperated in the operation. It was finally decided to let the three luxury yachts sail through the broken lock. The exact costs of the operation are not known, all amounts are lacquered in the documents given to Omroep Brabant by the National Service.
It is clear, however, that the million repair of the lock must be partly paid by Rijkswaterstaat itself and can only be recovered from the cause of the damage. The repair of the broken lock at Lith lasts until the end of November this year.
