Feadship is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee with various events throughout the course of 2024, following 75 years of unparalleled service to the yachting industry.
While it may be 75 years for Feadship, the combined experience of De Vries (1906), De Voogt (1913) and Van Lent (celebrating its 175th anniversary this year) amounts to a maritime legacy of an astonishing 404 years, a number unmatched in the industry.
Since its modest origins in 1949, today Feadship has an astounding 1,700-metres (5,577-feet) of yachts under construction, including ground-breaking projects like hydrogen fuel cell propulsion as seen in the majestic 118.80m (389ft) Project 821.
Feadship has four shipyards in the Netherlands: Aalsmeer, Amsterdam, Kaag, and Makkum and operates in Hoofddorp, Leiden, Papendrecht, Moordrecht, Heiloo, Waddinxveen, and in Fort Lauderdale, USA. Feadship employs over 2,000 people and is seen as a beacon of excellence in superyacht craftsmanship.
The business has seen a staggering growth curve since the first vessels appeared at the New York National Boat Show, two years after a group of marine business owners gathered for an organisational meeting at De Roode Leeuw café in Amsterdam in 1949, to devise a plan to sell Dutch-built boats abroad.
Far from the glamour that now surrounds the superyacht industry, Feadship sprung from a pragmatic post-World War II plan to rescue Dutch industries by kick-starting exports to generate much-needed hard currency. Assured of some government support, six boat builders launched Feadship, the ‘First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders’.
The well-known naval architect and former boat builder Henri de Voogt joined Feadship soon after. His role was to be the designer of the future Feadships and often the chief salesman. Feadship went on to receive glowing reviews and had ninety yachts already sold in America in the first eight years.
Since, the Feadship brand has delivered over five hundred yachts to date, with another four scheduled to be delivered in 2024. The shipyard’s determination to innovate in technical areas with corrosion control, mechanical and electrical systems, aluminium and carbon fibre construction and the use of glass, made Feadship the brand that sets industry standards.
Feadship yachts such as Sussuro, Ecstasea and Predator sent luxury into the fast lane, while yachts like Savannah and Obsidian showed how luxury could have less impact and launched Feadship on its campaign to net zero by 2030.
For more information, visit Feadship.
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