Dutch yard Heesen Yachts has signalled its intention to build an 80 metre superyacht with the opening of a new dry dock at its Oss facility.
Built in 15 months and officially opened last week (November 11), the dry dock measures 85 metres overall and features heated floors, humidifiers and air filters to ensure the ideal conditions for building a superyacht.
In order to reduce its environmental impact, the new Heesen Yachts dry dock also features an automatic sun tracker, which can dim the interior LED lighting to avoid wasting energy on bright days.
In a statement, the yard said: “This infrastructure development is our response to the market’s request for bigger yachts. We are now ready to expand the size of our yachts up to 80 metres.”
The largest Heesen yacht to date is the 70 metre Galactica Super Nova, which was delivered in May and went on to make its debut on both sides of the Atlantic at the recent Monaco Yacht Show and Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Heesen’s official website features the 75 metre concept Project Vesta but the new dry dock clears the way for its design partners to create an even larger superyacht concept. The yard regularly builds yachts on speculation, but did not reveal whether the proposed 80 metre yacht project would begin construction before an owner was found.
The largest superyacht currently under construction at Heesen Yachts is the 55 metre Project Alida, which is being built from steel and aluminium to a design by Dutch studio Omega Architects. This tri-deck fast displacement yacht is expected to hit the water in 2017.