New eco-friendly Feadship yard opened by Queen Maxima of the Netherlands

By Katia Damborsky 17 May 2019

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was present at the official opening of Feadship’s brand new state-of-the-art facility for superyachts measuring up to 160m.

Feadship’s new yard, which will operate in tandem with the Royal Van Lent facility on Kaag island, was officially opened yesterday. It is being heralded ‘the most eco-friendly superyacht yard in the world.’

The ceremony was held in the presence of Queen Maxima and around 2500 members of Feadship’s workforce, and jointly celebrates the 170th anniversary of the existing Van Lent shipyard as well as the brand new facility.

After five years of planning, design and construction, the yard is now ready to welcome superyachts measuring up to 160 metres, and will cater to both new builds and refits.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Group Managing Director of LMVH, which owns Royal Van Lent, said: “This new facility will allow Feadship to stay at the cutting edge of innovation and continue to build superyachts that will change history.”

Koen Overtoom, general director of the Port of Amsterdam was also pleased to be on the scene for the grand unveiling. “The knowledge, craftsmanship and employment opportunities will further strengthen the port of Amsterdam and its surrounding regions.”

This shipbuilding is in our DNA and four centuries later you can see the passion in the amazing superyachts created by Feadship.
Koen Overtoom, general director of Port of Amsterdam

He continued, “In the 1600s there were 26 boatbuilders located here, with three new vessels being launched every week and many thousands of people employed. This shipbuilding is in our DNA and four centuries later you can see the passion in the amazing superyachts created by Feadship.”

Lady S was the first yacht to enter the yard last month; but at present, the Feadship project currently known as 816 is being hosted in the facility. She had her masts fitted earlier this week with the help of three overhead cranes which have a total capacity of 2x12.5 tonnes each.

The new Amsterdam yard and Royal Van Lent will share the same management team and corporate structure, with 450 employees moving between the yards. A further 150 jobs have been created as part of the new facility.