Luxury yacht a thriving business in the Netherlands
OSS (Netherlands): With three lounges, three dining rooms, an open-air jacuzzi, a bar and six luxury cabins, the 50m “Aster” is one of Dutch shipyard Heesen’s more modest superyachts.
The Netherlands, which amassed huge wealth through the technical superiority of European shipbuilders during its 17th century Golden Age, is continuing its maritime tradition by carving out a prominent place in the luxury yacht industry.
“It’s a big year for us,” said Johan Kaasjager of Heesen Yachts at his shipyard, here. “We’ll have delivery of three yachts this year and still a lot to come. The order book is very good at the moment so we’re full till 2020.”
A new ship construction dock is so large it’s been nicknamed “the cathedral”. At 90m long, it will enable Heesen to build its largest ever superyacht, the 80m Cosmos.
Heesen has found a sweet spot in that 50m to 80m market segment, with demand so strong it cannot keep up, even after adding new facilities.
Home to several of the world’s top 10 superyacht builders, the Netherlands ranks second behind Italy this year in the builders of yachts longer than 24m, with 65 in the pipeline, data from Superyacht Times shows.
Last year, the average price per yacht rose nearly 10 per cent to a record €57 million (RM265.85 million).