Princess Yachts revealed a major move during the recent Monaco Yacht Show. It’s returning to the 30-meter-plus (98-foot-plus) market, a segment where it delivered more than three dozen yachts. Already, the Princess Yachts superyachts will include the Princess 106 Odyssey yacht series. Larger projects are in the works, too. For details, Megayacht News editor Diane…
Supporting plans to grow its superyacht construction plus its footholds in commercial and military vessel construction and refit/repair, Burger Boat Company has made several leadership changes. Firstly, Jim Ruffolo (left), the president and CEO for more than the past 15 years, is now chairman. Ruffolo initially acquired the assets of the Wisconsin shipyard in the…
Following its acquisition earlier this year, Heesen Yachts is making a few new appointments. Jeroen van der Meer is the newest, as the superyacht shipyard’s chief executive officer. A Dutch native, van der Meer grew up in the shipbuilding city of Vlissingen. He further grew up in a shipping family, since his father was a…
William J. Healey, a.k.a. Bill Healey, who established the sportfishing powerhouse Viking Yachts with his brother, died on August 14. He was 97. The son of a steel-company owner, Healey was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 6, 1927. A lifelong resident of the state, he entered the Marines after high school, towards…
UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 6, 2025: Halit Yukay was laid to rest today in Istanbul. The 43-year-old was positively identified days after the Turkish Coast Guard discovered a body it believed might be his off the coast of Erdek, Turkey on August 23. Yukay’s body was in about 223 feet (68 meters) of water, near where the…
Alewijnse, a Netherlands-based electrical systems integrator, is now part of the Oceanco Group, following acquisition by Gabe Newell, Oceanco’s new owner. Oceanco and Alewijnse have collaborated on megayacht projects dating back to the 1990s. “With Alewijnse joining the Group, we have the opportunity to develop new solutions and innovations that serve not only yachting, but…
Ivor Jones (above left), who with his brother Jack (right) established Delta Marine and grew it from a fishing-boat builder to a custom-superyacht builder, has died. He was 86 years old. Born in April 1939 in Seattle, Ivor Jones seemed destined for a career in the marine industry. He and Jack enjoyed racing flat-bottom boats…
UPDATE, APRIL 8, 2026: Tom de Vries, who has handled daily management of the family shipyard alongside his cousin Henk de Vries for four decades, has now retired as well. He, like Henk, has become a brand ambassador. An official passing of the torch celebration took place at the Aalsmeer facility in The Netherlands, with…
Nearly 50 years ago, a young Dutchman acquired a yacht-building company in his hometown of Oss. Frans Heesen named it Heesen Yachts, and turned it into a superyacht shipyard with clients on multiple continents. He died today in the same city where he grew up, at age 85. An entrepreneur at heart, Frans Heesen was…
Twenty-five years ago, Benetti established its first office in the United States. That same year, the first stateside Benetti Yachtmaster event occurred, too. Created by the late chairman Paolo Vitelli, Yachtmaster brings together captains and crew along with surveyors, suppliers, and more. Although it’s an opportunity to present new designs and technology, simultaneously it’s for…
