Heesen Yachts

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.[2] 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.[3] One year following the purchase, Heesen launched the 20-metre (66 ft) Amigo, a luxury yacht that was the first to bear the Heesen name.[4]

Amigo in 2009

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.[5][6] 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.[6][7] 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.[8]

By 1990, Heesen had built more than 25 yachts over 27 meters (89 ft) in length, earning it a reputation as one of the world's leading custom yacht builders.[9] 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.[10] 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 (160 ft) motor yacht Achiever in collaboration with Oceanco.[11]

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 (121 ft) Obsession, a yacht that could reach a speed of 33 knots.[12] At that time she was the world's largest sport fishing yacht.[11] Heesen expanded in 2003, the same year it launched its 3700 and 4400 yacht series.[11] The expansion included the building of a new construction facility.[11]

Heesen Luxury yacht Man of Steel, at Bahia Mar marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US, in 2009

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 (213 ft) Fast Displacement yacht Galactica Star, a custom-built yacht with a top speed of 28.8 knots.[13] It has received nine awards including a World Superyacht Award.[14] Heesen also launched another World Superyacht Award winning yacht – Satori – in 2011.[11] Frans Heesen retired from the company in 2012, 35 years after founding Heesen Yachts.[6]

Galactica Star in Barcelona in 2014

Heesen Yachts' second largest project to date, a 70-metre (230 ft) aluminium Fast Displacement superyacht, was delivered in the spring of 2016.[15] Named Galactica Super Nova, she was designed in collaboration with Espen Oeino and has a top speed of 30 knots.[15] In 2017 the yard also delivered the world's first hybrid-powered Fast Displacement yacht, a 50-metre (160 ft) named Home.

Heesen continues to develop new designs and new platform-build ranges alongside custom projects. In 2018 construction began on the yard's largest steel displacement yacht to date. Project Falcon. In 2019 Heesen confirmed the sale of a 67-metre (220 ft) steel yacht, which is being built as Project Sparta. Also in 2019 Heesen confirmed the sale of a striking 59-metre (194 ft) custom yacht that will, on completion in 2023, feature the yard's most powerful propulsion package to date – four waterjets providing a combined 22,000 horsepower. Named Project Skyfall, the yacht will be capable of speeds up to 37 knots – a remarkable achievement for such a large yacht. In November 2019 Heesen also announced a new collaboration with the British studio Winch Design for a range of innovative FDHF explorer yachts named Xventure.

In January 2019 another ground-breaking Heesen yacht – Irisha – won the Best Exterior Styling award in the Motor Yachts 40 m to 59 m category at the Boat International Design and Innovation Awards.

In 2019 Heesen began construction on its largest project to date, the 80.07-metre (262.7 ft) Project Cosmos.[16] Designed with fast efficient cruising in mind, Cosmos draws on several innovative technologies to achieve a top speed close to 30 knots and an efficient cruising speed of over 20 knots. Her FDHF hull combines with all-aluminium construction to deliver the light weight needed to achieve her design speeds, but this also necessitated the development of a new construction technique in order to ensure the required structural strength. As a result, Heesen developed the Backbone – a now patented design element – which acts as a stiffening element running fore to aft.

The project will also feature Rolls-Royce's Promas system in which the rudder and propeller are integrated into a single unit, which improves hydrodynamic efficiency. The Promas system for Cosmos has been developed and refined by Rolls-Royce at its Hydrodynamic Research Centre (HRC) in Kristinehamn, Sweden, with the optimal design being proved on 1:11 scale model testing at the HRC.

In July 2020 the hull and superstructure were joined, showing the sleek profile design – which was created by British studio Winch Design – for the first time in the flesh.[17] At the same time, the four-engine, two-gearbox propulsion system, as well as the Promas units, were also fitted. Cosmos is now undergoing fitout with her launch, sea trials and delivery scheduled for 2021.

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 (FDHF) 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.[18]

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’.[19] The first yacht to feature the FDHF hull was Heesen Yachts’ 65-metre (213 ft) Galactica Star, which was launched in 2013 to wide acclaim. Several other Heesen builds have since featured the FDHF hull, including the 55-metre (180 ft) 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-metre (164 ft) yacht that combines both the FDHF hull and an advanced hybrid propulsion system for the first time. Fitted with two 127 kW 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.[20] The first superyacht to feature a Hull Vane was Heesen's Alive, a 42-metre (138 ft) 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.[21]

Further innovations have also been implemented on Project Cosmos, at 80 metres Heesen's largest project to date. These include the patented Backbone used to add stiffness to the lightweight aluminium construction, and the use of the Rolls-Royce Promas system that integrates propeller and rudder into a single unit.

The Heesen Yachts yard in Oss, The Netherlands

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-metre (279 ft) dry dock and 90-metre (295 ft) 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 (272 ft) in length. In addition, Heesen has its own interiors construction department based in the nearby town of Winterswijk. Following recent expansion, the Winterswijk production area now covers 8,100 square metres, allowing the yard to cater for the increasing size of yacht it is building and the increasing number of orders under construction.

Below is a list of all the yachts built by Heesen:

• Heesen Yachts Stadion
• Motor yacht
• List of motor yachts by length
• List of yachts built by Heesen

• Heesen Yachts official website