A shade between green and blue, a type of blue beryl, but also a new the first yacht in the newly designed 5000 Aluminium Class by Heesen Yachts, the Dutch shipbuilding company that specializes in custom built superyachts.
Project Aquamarine is a fast-cruising, all-aluminium motor yacht sporting a brand new hull designed by Heesen’ in-house naval architects and the renowned hydrodynamicists Van Oossanen Naval Architects. YN 18950 Aquamarine is currently under construction at the Heesen facility in Oss and is available for delivery in January 2021.
In line with Heesen’s wider philosophy, the new 5000 Aluminium Class reduces the carbon footprint without compromising on speed or performance and the installation of soot filters on the generators makes the package complete.
Van Oossanen carried out the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tests and optimized the hull shape, before a 1:16 scale model was tested in the towing tank in Southampton, UK
The optimization of the hull design has enabled an efficiency gain of 12%. This important result was achieved by raising the transom and making it sleeker, and in addition, propeller tunnels were incorporated in the hull. This means that the 5000 Aluminium class features raised propellers, which in turn has decreased the draft to just 2.15 meters. Such a shallow draft makes Aquamarine the perfect yacht for cruising in all waters. A pair of interceptors will guarantee optimal dynamic trim at high speeds.
“Thanks to the optimized hull design, it has been possible to install MTU’s new 16V4000M65L green oceanic engines, which have been specially developed to operate with an SCR unit (Selective Catalytic Reduction) to reduce NOx emissions. As a result, Aquamarine is the first fast-cruising yacht below 500GT to be IMO Tier III compliant, ” explained Heesen Yachts shipyard.
The clean and modern profile was created by Omega Architects. “The design we created for the new 5000 Aluminium Class combines our own heritage with that of Heesen as a builder of elegant and sporty aluminium motor yachts,” commented Frank Laupman of Omega Architects. “The ‘integrated hull and body design’, which was first seen on the iconic 65m Galactica Star, gives a strong character to the yacht’s profile.”
The raised aft deck – completed by sun pads – allows for a full height multi-purpose tender garage that doubles as a luxury beach club connecting to the flush swim platform, bringing guests close to the water. To maintain a clean profile line the rescue tender is conveniently stored under a hatch in front of the wheelhouse.
Designer Cristiano Gatto was entrusted with the Japanese-inspired interior design. Twelve guests are accommodated in four spacious guest suites on the lower deck and a master stateroom forward on the main deck.
Heesen Yachts at the 2019 Dubai Yacht Show
At the 2019 Dubai Yacht Show (from 26 February-1 March 2019), Heesen Yachts showcased the 50m semi-displacement Rocket in partnership with BehneMar. Powerful, elegant and fast, this full aluminium semi-displacement motor yacht with a remarkable top speed of 23 knots, was the largest yacht exhibiting at the show, hosted in the Dubai Canal, Jumeirah
Following an increase in demand for superyachts in the Middle East, Heesen entered a partnership with BehneMar in 2018. The Gulf’s leading luxury yacht consultancy now represents the shipyard in United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Lebanese Republic.
Featuring a distinctive pelican-beak bow and negative sheer – recognisable features of Heesen-built motor yachts – her stunning exterior design is the result of a collaboration between Heesen’s in-house Design and Development team and Frank Laupman of Omega Architects. Her interiors, designed by Domus Nova and Omega Architects, convey “Luxury through Nature”, adopting a minimalist approach informed by natural environments to achieve this.
