FOUNDED IN 1978 IN THE NETHERLANDS, HEESEN HAS COME TO DEFINE A CATEGORY OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE CUSTOM MOTOR YACHTS.  

When entrepreneur Frans Heesen took over the yard then known as Striker in Oss, he made Heesen the first Dutch shipbuilder to construct yacht hulls in aluminium. The yard went on to define its category, from the record-breaking 44-metre Octopussy, the world's fastest yacht on her 1988 delivery, to the 65-metre Galactica Star, whose Fast Displacement Hull Form pioneered a technology still central to the yard's DNA today. Based on the Maas river in Oss, Heesen builds custom aluminium and steel superyachts from 30 to over 70 metres, with an in-house carpentry workshop in Winterswijk completing every interior.

Under the ownership of entrepreneur Laurens Last, Heesen has entered a new phase of growth, with a healthy order book and several yachts in build. Recent and forthcoming deliveries include the 55-metre Steel-series Pa'lante and the all-aluminium Sophia, alongside Project Setteesettanta, a 57-metre full-custom yacht and the first Heesen to place her bridge on the fourth deck. Each build follows the yard's "Smart Custom" philosophy: a proven, in-house engineered platform that owners can still make entirely their own.