From the magazine – What’s the position of the superyacht building industry within the wider field of the maritime industry? Hein Velema, Partner at Marstrat, and Jan-Bart Verkuyl, CEO of Feadship’s Royal Van Lent yard, take a brief look back and ahead.
Marstrat is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. In this anniversary year, the partners have a series of conversations scheduled with players from all parts of the maritime cluster. In the first instalment, written by Lisette Vos, Partner Hein Velema talks to Jan-Bart Verkuyl (Feadship) about the position of superyacht building sector within the wider field of the maritime industry. A Dutch version of this article appeared in SWZ|Maritime’s July/August 2025 issue.
Feadship is building – at their customers’ request – larger and larger yachts: the yachts’ length has doubled and their volume has increased by a factor of five in the past ten years. The growing complexity of the engineering and construction means a business must be even more professional and efficient if it wants to make any profit on a yacht. Added to which, over the past decade, the demand for sustainability has become much more important and in that respect, Feadship pursues an ambitious goal: as from 2030, all new-build yachts must be emission-free.
Jan-Bart Verkuyl, CEO of Feadship’s Royal Van Lent yard, is proud to point out that superyacht building has become the largest sector in the maritime manufacturing industry, larger than the offshore sector and dredging. Nonetheless, the economic and innovative value of the superyacht sector is often underestimated, both by the rest of the industry and the government. The public’s perception of the sector doesn’t help either, Verkuyl claims. ‘I still often hear that we’re the ones who just build floating palaces for the richest people on the planet.’
Hein Velema, one of Marstrat’s partners, maintains that superyacht building industry has held a position of its own within the maritime industry for quite some time, but he’s now seeing a change. ‘Superyacht builders are taken more seriously nowadays. In fact, yacht building is the largest segment of Dutch shipbuilding, in terms of turnover. But it’s not just that: this sector is augmenting the innovative force of the entire maritime industry.’
Formula 1 of the manufacturing industry
Verkuyl agrees with this sentiment. In his view, Feadship is the Formula 1 of the maritime manufacturing industry. Design innovations (such as using more glass in yachts to get closer to the water) and sustainable revolutions (power from hydrogen) are all contributions made by the superyacht sector and Feadship – who create each yacht as a prototype – is using them to help all of the maritime industry to advance. ‘Our company is a test bed for new technology. We build in large volumes, which means we can invest in innovation, while other businesses share the benefits.’
Here is an example: in Norway, two ferries are powered by hydrogen, thanks to technology Feadship developed for a yacht. ‘We’re aiming to produce a clean fleet by making it sustainable, and in 2025, we succeeded in delivering our first hydrogen-powered yacht. We don’t have all the know-how we need for this technology in-house, so we’ve been managing its development by setting up a programme with several partners. Now, this innovation and the lessons we’ve learned while creating it will benefit all parts of the maritime industry. However, you need the right attitude to work like this: you need to want each other to succeed.’
Also read: Feadship launches 100-metre custom-superyacht
Shipyard collaborations
Verkuyl believes that more opportunities will appear for the industry if there is better collaboration between the yards. For instance, superyacht shipyards could work together to find the best ways to apply technical innovations.
Here’s an example: ‘An engine has been designed that works either on diesel fuel or methanol, but it needs to be adjusted before it can be used in our yachts. It’s not lucrative for an engine supplier to make those adjustments solely for Feadship. If we, the shipyards, team up, we can ask the supplier to make those changes to the engine.’
Investing in professionals
Verkuyl explains that while Feadship invests in technological innovation, they have not forgotten the importance of educating and upskilling their 2,500 employees. In fact, this superyacht builder has their own Academy. ‘It’s a fact people often forget about while insisting that all we do is build floating palaces for the wealthy. Our company offers plenty of job opportunities in this country and puts a lot of effort into training our specialised workers. It’s what we truly believe in; after all, we want to be able to build every customer’s dream. And indeed, the entire industry profits from our efforts, because our people move to other jobs in the sector.’
According to Velema, this upskilling of employees in the superyacht industry leads to a healthy maritime cluster. Firms in the maritime industry are always on the lookout for well-trained, specialist staff. ‘Companies like Feadship work hard to actively train their people. That’s something we need to cherish, as it benefits the whole industry.’
Working together is an important theme, not only in the Netherlands, but internationally too. As a member of the international maritime trade organisation SYBAss, Feadship works closely with other Dutch and European yacht builders, though their operations do not mean the businesses are competing among themselves.
‘For instance, we all support fair regulations for superyacht building and at trade fairs, we can draw up solid agreements. Nonetheless, collaborations with other segments in the maritime cluster to produce technical innovations are hardly happening, or even non-existent, in fact. That’s where I see plenty of opportunities,’ Verkuyl adds.
Subsidies for Innovations
Verkuyl believes that superyacht builders in the Netherlands – with the support of trade organization NMT-IRO – should take a firmer stance towards the government, and Velema strongly agrees. The surprising fact is that the superyacht industry is almost, or even wholly, excluded from subsidies and schemes for innovations, despite its huge contribution to the maritime sector and the Dutch economy.
‘Perhaps it’s because the public see us in a particular way, and that’s hard to change, while the government’s views on this industry are not justified either,’ Verkuyl continues. ‘After all, we’re boosting the whole sector, and they’re allowing opportunities for the entire maritime industry to slip away.’
Also read: Feadship fuel-cell superyacht completes sea trials
The message
Feadship’s Verkuyl has a clear message for both the industry and the government: acknowledge the value of the superyacht building industry. Use the volume and innovate force of the superyacht builders to advantage and work more closely together. ‘If we can do that, the entire sector will be more profitable. The Dutch maritime industry deserves it.’
Velema reinforces that message: ‘too often, the relevance of the superyacht building industry is still underestimated and that means we’re missing opportunities to that would benefit the entire sector.’
Picture (top): Feadship’s Amsterdam yard in May 2025 (photo by Feadship).
