Heesen MYS 2022 YachtTalk Specials episode 2 – Heesen at the Monaco Yacht Show

Filmed at the Heesen Monaco Yacht Show press conference at the Belle Epoque Hermitage Hotel, a special YachtTalk report unveiled the Dutch shipyard’s exciting new yacht concept in partnership with Winch Design. Host Charlotte Kan engaged naval architect and yacht designer Jim Dixon of Winch Design to share details of the exciting model, and caught up with Heesen CEO Arthur Brouwer to find out about the shipyard and industry’s most recent developments.

Market intelligence
The year 2022 has seen both the superyacht industry and world politics enter a challenging period in history following the invasion of Ukraine. For Heesen, the impact was felt across the board.

“The invasion of Ukraine impacted us in our client base and commercially it was very slow at the beginning of the year,” said Brouwer. “Luckily, that has bounced back now, helped by the shipyard’s actions to move away from the former shareholder and towards the foundation. We’re now 100% Dutch owned.”

Despite the current climate, Heesen remains incredibly stable. Brouwer puts this resilience down to the shipyard’s strong financial situation, which means the yard can keep investing when the market is slow and has inventory ready for when the market is high.

“The workflow in our company always centres on 12 superyachts, both custom yachts an  d speculation builds,” he said. “It means that we can sell the yachts within a couple of years with very healthy margins. Heesen is in great health.”

He also noted that because Heesen is a global company, it can quickly and efficiently adapt to movements in the yachting market. “This year we have a very full order book with deliveries in 2025, and that means we’re in a very good position to weather the storm if it comes,” he added.

Heesen standing out
Alongside its 60m full custom yacht Lusine, Heesen showcased its new 2022 stand design located at T Central. The revamp follows on from the shipyard’s rebrand earlier this year. Mark van Heffen, Heesen’s marketing director, gave a walk-through of Heesen’s three portfolio offerings: Series, Smart Custom and Full Custom.

A collection of scale models spotlighted the yard’s previous builds, while a digital table allowed visitors to scroll through   brochures of all the Heesen yachts currently available to buy.

Launching the XV67
Together with Winch Design, Heesen launched an exciting new yacht concept at the Monaco Yacht Show this year, the XV67, a “crossover” vessel that is a development of the previous explorer concept, XVenture.

“Lots of development has gone into this concept to create a new audience and market in the explorer sector for Heesen,” said Dixon. “The next generation of wealth is coming through, and XV67 answers their explorer and aspirational needs by taking the best of a purposeful Heesen superyacht platform combined with the best of a lifestyle interior. It’s very much a new concept, rather than a continuation of XVenture.”

Included among the significant design changes are a tender platform on the main deck aft, capable of carrying chase boats and submersibles, as well as performing as a helipad if required.

You can watch this episode here.