Heesen Yachts is a Dutchship building company that specializes in custom built superyachts. Founded in 1978, it has launched more than 170 yachts since its inception, many of which have gone on to win awards. It is considered one of the world leaders in the design, construction and engineering of all-aluminum yachts.
History
Heesen Yachts was founded in 1978 by Frans Heesen, an entrepreneur who at the time was best known for his work in the plastics industry. Heesen purchased the Striker Boats shipyard site in the Netherlands as a potential home for another business, but decided to retain the property as a shipyard and continue its operations. One year following the purchase, Heesen launched the 20 metre Amigo, a luxury yacht that was the first to bear the Heesen name. 1988 was a breakthrough year for Heesen Yachts. The yard was commissioned by American entrepreneur John Staluppi to build a yacht that could do more than 50 knots. Consequently Heesen built Octopussy, which was named after the 1983 James Bond film. This custom built yacht was at the time the fastest yacht on record, registering a top speed of 53.17 knots. It was refitted and lengthened by another company years later and, due to the weight the works added, it fell out of the rankings of the world's fastest yachts. By 1990, Heesen had built more than 25 yachts over 27 meters in length, earning it a reputation as one of the world's leading custom yacht builders. Mirage, formerly El Corsario – considered a sister design to Octopussy – was launched by Heesen in 1991. It used triple waterjets as propulsion and was ranked as the 16th fastest yacht in the world by Boat International. It has a cruising speed of 45 knots and can reach a top speed of up to 48 knots. In 1992, the company expanded its business to include the construction of traditional displacement, long range steel hulled yachts. This was marked by the launch of the 50 metre motor yachtAchiever in collaboration with Oceanco. In 1996 Heesen, already known for its earlier Striker sport fishing boats, entered the market for large sport fishing yachts with the delivery of the 37 metre Obsession, a yacht that could reach a speed of 33 knots. At that time she was the world’s largest sport fishing yacht. Heesen expanded in 2003, the same year it launched its 3700 and 4400 yacht series. The expansion included the building of a new construction facility. Heesen Yachts was featured in Voyages of M/Y AlumerciA, a 2011 book written by Andrew Rogers. The book documents the voyages between 2001 and 2010 of the eponymous motoryacht that was built by Heesen. In 2013, Heesen launched the 65 metre Fast Displacement yacht Galactica Star, a custom built yacht with a top speed of 28.8 knots. It has received nine awards including a World Superyacht Award. Heesen also launched another World Superyacht Award winning yacht – Satori – in 2011. Frans Heesen retired from the company in 2012, 35 years after founding Heesen Yachts. in Barcalona in 2014. Heesen Yachts' second largest project to date, a aluminum Fast Displacement superyacht, was delivered in the Spring of 2016. Named Galactica Super Nova, she was designed in collaboration with Espen Oeino and has a top speed of 30 knots. In 2017 the yard also delivered the world's first hybrid-powered Fast Displacement yacht, a named Home''. "Project Cosmos" is currently in the construction phase and the, scheduled for delivery in 2021, will be the largest motor yacht built by Heesen.
Innovation has always been a key facet of Heesen Yachts, and this was never more apparent than when yard was commissioned to build Octopussy, a yacht that was conceived from the outset to be the world’s fastest superyacht. Designed by Mulder Design with an exterior penned by Gerhard Gilgenast, she was delivered in 1988 and achieved a top speed of 53.17 knots – a record at the time for a superyacht. Since then, Heesen Yachts has continued to set new standards in the design and construction of custom aluminium and steel motor yachts, with its aluminum range in particular proving popular with superyacht buyers around the world. More recently, a close collaboration with Dutch design studio Van Oossanen Naval Architects has led to further leaps in superyacht design. Van Oossanen’s Fast Displacement Hull Form was conceived as a concept designed to offer efficiency over the entire speed range, and not just at a restricted speed interval around the maximum speed. The hull form, which is patented and which was first featured on a project that was begun in 2009, has shown resistance values that are 15 to 20 per cent better than those of well-designed hard chine hull forms at semi-displacement speeds. Other benefits include significantly increased onboard comfort, with better sea-keeping and wave reduction than more conventional hull forms. The Wolfson Unit test tank facility compared the FDHF hull to other round bilge hull forms between a cruising speed of 15 knots and almost planing speeds 44 knots, stating that ‘…the design is currently ranked as the most efficient in the Wolfson Unit’s database’. The first yacht to feature the FDHF hull was Heesen Yachts’ 65 metre Galactica Star, which was launched in 2013 to wide acclaim. Several other Heesen builds have since featured the FDHF hull, including the 55 meter Azamanta, delivered in 2015, which was the first steel-hulled FDHF yacht over 50 metres in length. More recent Heesen innovations include the 2017-delivered superyacht Home, a 50 meter yacht that combines both the FDHF hull and an advanced hybrid propulsion systemfor the first time. Fitted with two 127kW DC electric shaft motors alongside twin conventional diesel engines, she has registered a fuel consumption of just 45 liters per hour in hybrid mode at 9 knots. Heesen Yachts has also collaborated with Van Oossanen on the implementation of the naval architect’s Hull Vane system, a stern-mounted, underwater fixed foil that aims to improve both fuel saving and seakeeping. The first superyacht to feature a Hull Vane was Heesen’s Alive, a 42 metre yacht delivered in 2014 which also features an FDHF hull. Sea trials showed that the yacht was 35 per cent more efficient than any other yacht of her size, with fuel consumption estimated to be 30 per cent less than a conventional displacement yacht.
Shipyard
The Heesen Yachts shipyard is situated in the southern Netherlands town of Oss. Covering 4.4 acres, the yard comprises nine construction sheds and five dry docks. A new construction facility was developed in 2003, and this was further enhanced in 2015 when work began on a new 85 meter dry dock and 90 meter construction hall on the site of sheds 2 and 3, which were originally built in 1985. Work on the new dry dock and construction hall was completed in September 2016. The yard now has the capability to build yachts up to 83 metres in length.
Yachts
Below is a list of all the yachts built by Heesen:
