The luxury world of superyachts allows wealthy individuals to bring their floating dreams to life. Though realizing these dreams requires the best superyacht builders in the world, with highly skilled staff from engineers to designers and more all playing important roles in creating these luxurious vessels.
Superyachts are crafted at various shipyards around the world, from the Netherlands and the UK to Italy and America. However, the majority of the top-rated superyacht builders are located within the Netherlands and Germany.
While there are many superyacht builders situated in various countries and all offering high-quality, luxurious vessels, below are some of the most renowned superyacht builders.
Lürssen
One of the most prominent names in building superyachts is Lürssen. This family-owned company owns eight shipyards in Germany and has some of the most experienced staff in the world working on building superyachts.
Lürssen’s largest superyacht is the Azzam, which also happens to be the longest superyacht in the world. Completed in 2013, it measures 180.65 meters (592’8”) in length and was constructed in an impressively short time of under three years.
Lürssen has many other striking superyachts to its name, including the Dilbar which was completed in 2016 and measures 156 meters (511’10”) in length. The Dilbar features the largest swimming pool ever installed on a yacht, measuring 25 meters in length and containing 180 m³ of water.
Feadship
Feadship is based in the Netherlands and is an association of shipbuilders that includes the Van Lent yard, the De Vries yard, and De Voogt Naval Architects.
The Symphony was Feadship’s first 100-meter-plus superyacht and measures 101.50 meters (333’0”). It was completed in 2015 and includes features such as a helicopter pad and a 6-meter contraflow swimming pool that has its own waterfall.
Nobiskrug
Nobiskrug is a German shipbuilder that specializes in custom-made superyachts. Working out of three facilities in northern Germany, Nobiskrug offers a variety of in-house services, from hull construction to carpentry and electrical work.
Nobiskrug designed the Artefact with minimal environmental impact in mind. The yacht measures 80 meters (262’) in length and includes a range of eco-friendly features such as solar panels and a battery storage system to allow the Artefact to operate for a limited time without using the internal combustion engines.
The Artefact meets IMO Tier III emissions regulations and also has dynamic positioning that enables it to hold position for longer without needing to drop anchor, helping to protect the sea floor.
Nobiskrug also gained renown for the Sailing Yacht A, an undeniably head-turning vessel designed by Philippe Starck. The vessel features an underwater observation pod and a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system, while its three masts are the world’s tallest and most highly loaded freestanding composite structures, with the mainmast reaching 100 meters above the waterline.
Amels
Amels is a Netherlands-based shipbuilder that utilizes climate-controlled bays in its construction. It offers both fully custom and semi-custom construction.
The Amels Limited Editions range offers a balance of custom and semi-custom yacht construction, allowing interiors and exteriors to be customized while keeping construction times down to months rather than years.
Oceanco
Oceanco is another shipbuilder based in the Netherlands that has made a name for itself crafting beautiful and luxurious superyachts. Oceanco builds superyachts up to 140 meters in length and is behind striking vessels such as the DAR, which measures 90 meters (295’).
Oceanco has also created the impressive Black Pearl, a three-masted sailing superyacht measuring 106.7 meters (350’) in length, with sails that can be set in just seven minutes.
Fincantieri
Fincantieri is an Italian shipbuilder that specializes in superyachts over 70 meters long. They offer both fully custom and semi-custom construction options and focus on blending beautiful aesthetics, cutting-edge technology (particularly focused on reducing noise and vibration), and environmentally-conscious design solutions in their vessels.
Some of their most impressive creations include the Serene, the Armonia, and the Fortissimo.
Heesen
Heesen is a well-respected shipbuilder in the Netherlands, known for its aluminum hull superyachts, though they also use steel hulls. Some of their standout creations include the Galactica Star which is the first aluminum yacht in the world to have a fast displacement hull, as well as the Galactica Super Nova which is the largest vessel built by Heesen to date.
Christensen
Christensen is a shipbuilder based in the USA that does most of its shipbuilding work in-house. This allows it to keep tight control over its production process and allows the shipbuilder to quickly create custom components as well.