Not one company but a brand shared since 1949 by two shipbuilders, Royal Van Lent and De Vries, with a joint design office; full custom from 35 to 120 m.
1949
Founded
Royal Van Lent (LVMH) 50% · De Vries family 50%
Owner
not published
Revenue
4th · 18 projects, 1,390 m
Rank
35 to 120 m
Range
Kaag, Amsterdam, Aalsmeer, Makkum
Yards
What happened, 2023 to 2026
May 2024Build118.8 m Project 821, the first fuel-cell Feadship, launched in Amsterdam
Sep 2024DealFeadship Resale, a brokerage arm for its own yachts, launched
Apr 2025Top seatHenk de Vries retires; Roderick de Vries CEO, Bas Nederpelt CCO
Jul 2025Build101 m Moonrise delivered; Breakthrough shown at Monaco
Apr 2026Top seatDe Vries handover complete; an 80 m sailing Feadship debuts
Sep 2026Build115 m HIVE concept revealed
What it adds up to. The top Dutch builder changed its family half's whole leadership in 2025 and 2026 while delivering its largest yachts.
Who runs it
CEO, Royal Van Lent; Director, Feadshipsince 2014
Director Resalesince 2024
Chief Marketing Officersince 2021
Production manager CNSsince 2024
Manager mechanical departmentsince 2017
Head of Naval Architecture discipline (De Voogt)since 2026
Head of Refit & Services design and engineeringsince 2018
Organisation. Two yards, one brand; no group CEO, two Feadship Directors
What it shows for a new yard. No group CEO: two Feadship Directors, one from each yard, share the top seat.
Former leaders now elsewhere6 people who held a top or senior seat here
now Commercial Director at Heesen Yachts
now Head of Innovation at Koninklijke de Vries Scheepsbouw te Aalsmeer
now Manager Engineering at Royal Van Lent Shipyard
now Sales/Marketing Manager at Mulder Shipyard
now Commercial Director - America at Heesen Yachts
now General Manager Refit & Service at Royal Huisman
Organisation chartthe top seat, the senior layer by function, and the managers where the top team is small; the number two is marked
JB
Jan Bart Verkuyl
CEO, Royal Van Lent; Director, Feadship
since 2014
Sales and marketing8 senior, +6 managers below
Engineering and design6 senior, +4 managers below
Production and operations3 senior, +8 managers below
Projects and service2 senior, +18 managers below
Finance, legal and IT1 senior, +1 managers below
People2 senior, +2 managers below
Arjen van Elk
Director Resale
since 2024
FN
Farouk Nefzi
Chief Marketing Officer
since 2021
KP
Karlene Pack
Director, Feadship America
since 2012
Maarten Janssen
Sales Director
since 2018
Marsha van Buitenen
Sales Director (De Vries)
since 2017
Pedro Paiva
Director, Refit & Services
since 2024
Pier Posthuma de Boer
Sales Director (De Vries)
since 2024
Robert Drontmann
Sales Director
since 2026
CL
Caterina Lombardi
Head of Naval Architecture discipline (De Voogt)
since 2026
Francis Gumbs
Head of Refit & Services design and engineering
since 2018
HH
Harry Hankel
Manager technical (manager techniek)
since 2000
Jose Bijlstra
Manager central engineering, De Vries
since 2022
ML
Marc Levadou
Manager knowledge and innovation
since 2017
TW
Tanno Weeda
Head of Design (De Voogt)
since 2019
DO
Dirk Ouwehand
Production manager CNS
since 2024
Neval Koc
Manager mechanical department
since 2017
Wim Tinholt
Manager production, mechanical (WTB)
since 2020
Ico Vergouwe
Head of Refit Sales
since 2018
Mark van der Holst
Manager services (De Vries Yacht Services)
since 2022
Rob Tirion Msc, RC
Manager business operations (CFO), De Voogt Naval Architects
since 2020
Esther Meulendijk
Director, De Vlijt (shared flexible-staffing desk)
since 2019
LR
Lianne Rietveld
Head of HR (De Vries Aalsmeer)
since 2023
Managers in functions with no senior seat on the page, not drawn: purchasing 1
Number twoRun by the yard chief executives. Feadship is the brand company of two yards; its directors are their chief executives. The number twos sit on the yard pages (Royal Van Lent, De Vries, Makkum).
The top team as read on LinkedIn135 people read as staff, October 2026
The group page shows the alliance layer, not one yard: the Royal Van Lent CEO sits as a Feadship director; a bench of four Sales Directors plus a Director Resale and a Director Refit & Services under a Chief Marketing Officer and (per the brief) a Chief Commercial Officer; De Voogt's Head of Design and Head of Naval Architecture; HR heads per yard and a shared staffing desk.
Feadship is two owners (LVMH's Royal Van Lent and the De Vries family) sharing one brand, one sales force and one design office. The commercial function is a bench: several sales directors, each with a full-custom client book, a resale director and a refit director, with marketing as a C-level seat. The yards' own managing directors and technical leaders appear on the De Vries pages, not here. Sales directors move between Dutch yards freely: two of the four came from Heesen or went to it in 2026.
Seats and dates are as the people describe them on LinkedIn; a person who moved in the last months can still show the old seat. Tap a person for the profile and the reading.
Candidates at Feadship5 people under 50 in the pools; the shortlisted first
Pier Posthuma de Boer
Sales Director at Feadship · Amsterdam, Netherlands
AgeAbout 44estimate from the school years on the profile
Based inAmsterdam, Netherlands
Current seatSales Director, Feadship, since 2024
CareerSince 2007, 19 years
Builders on the CVFeadship (current)
EducationMaastricht University Doctoraal European Law School · Law; Wolfert van Borselen (Rotterdam) VWO (béta) & International Baccalaureaat English (Bilingual
LanguagesDutch, English, German
In brief
Sales Director since Apr 2024 after six years running Refit & Services (director from 2018) and yacht services at both De Vries yards. Clifford Chance M&A lawyer before yachting. Commercial with a services P&L behind him; no engineering.
Age46 to 50estimate from the degree years on the profile
Based inHaarlem, Netherlands
Current seatSales Director, Feadship, since 2017
CareerSince 2003, 23 years
Builders on the CVFeadship (current)
EducationRSM Erasmus University MBA · Strategy; Amsterdam School of Real Estate Real Estate Investments
LanguagesDutch, English
In brief
Sales Director since 2017; real estate investment and development before; RSM MBA, Delft architecture. Board of Holland Yachting Group 2018-2023. A seller of full-custom Feadships without technical or general management experience.
Age38 to 44estimate from the first dated job; less exact
Based inBelgium
Current seatSales Director at Feadship, Feadship, since 2026
CareerSince 2009, 17 years
Builders on the CVFeadship (current); Heesen Yachts (earlier)
EducationNot given
LanguagesNot given
In brief
Joined Jul 2026 from Heesen (Sales Director 2021-2026, sales manager from 2014), Moonen sales and brokerage before. Seventeen years selling Dutch yachts at three yards; no technical or P&L role.
Age46 to 50estimate from the degree years on the profile
Based inMijdrecht, Netherlands
Current seatManager production WTB, Feadship, since 2020
CareerSince 2001, 25 years
Builders on the CVFeadship (current)
EducationBusiness School Nederland Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) · Organizational; Management Development Program by Trigon and Voestalpine AG Management Development Program
LanguagesEnglish
In brief
Mechanical production department manager since 2020; IHC fabrication manager and process engineering manager before; MBA, about 47.
Facts and news, with sourcesthe research behind the overview
Show the facts and the dated news with their sources
Identity
Full name: Feadship (originally "First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders"; the expansion of the name is not confirmed in a source read here). Founded 1949 as an export association aimed at American buyers, started by naval architect Henri de Voogt with the De Vries and Van Lent yards. source 1source 2
Structure: a cooperation between two shipbuilders that share one brand, one design office and one sales organisation.
Royal Van Lent Shipyard (Kaag and Amsterdam), owned by LVMH.
Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw (Aalsmeer and Makkum), family-owned.
Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects / Studio De Voogt, the shared design office in Hoofddorp (Feadship head office)
Ownership of Feadship itself: De Vries owns 50% (2025-04-24). The other 50% is held by Royal Van Lent (implied by the two-member structure; not stated in that article). source
Headquarters: Hoofddorp, the Netherlands (press releases datelined Hoofddorp, for example 2026-04-10). source
Yards (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-10-21): Kaag (Royal Van Lent HQ, up to 100 m), Amsterdam (Royal Van Lent, opened early 2019, up to 160 m), Aalsmeer (De Vries HQ), Makkum (De Vries, opened 2005, over 120 m).
Sister brands: Feadship Resale (brokerage for Feadship owners, launched September 2024); Feadship Heritage Fleet. source
Size
Employees: De Vries over 1,200 (2025-04-24, source above). Royal Van Lent headcount: not found. Feadship total: not found.
Revenue: not published (Royal Van Lent is inside LVMH's "Other activities" segment; De Vries is private). Not found.
Boat International Global Order Book 2026 (data as of 1 September 2025): rank 4, 18 projects, 1,390 m total, average 77.2 m. GOB 2025: rank 3, 1,525 m. source
In that table Feadship is the highest-ranked Dutch builder and the only Dutch yard in the top five (Oceanco does not appear in the table).
Product
Size range: about 35 to 120 m (LVMH page); recent projects from 49.5 m (Project 717, revealed 2026-01-08) to 118.8 m (Breakthrough). source 1source 2
Build type: full custom only; "each one is a one-off prototype". Some hulls are started on speculation and sold during the build (for example, ONE, Breakthrough). source
Hull materials: not stated on the pages read (steel hull with aluminium superstructure is industry norm; not verified).
Technology: fuel cells (Breakthrough, the first Feadship with fuel cells), hybrid electric (Project 1012), multi-fuel design approval from Lloyd's (2023-10-06), membership of the Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization (2025-09-01). source
Notable deliveries 2023 to 2026.
Obsidian, 84.2 m, July 2023 (first delivery of 2023). source
Breakthrough (Project 821), 118.8 m, built at Amsterdam, launched May 2024, delivered 2025; largest Feadship to date by length. source 1source 2
ONE, 75.75 m, left the Kaag yard November 2024, delivery early 2025. source
Moonrise (Project 1013), 101 m, delivered July 2025. source
Stella M (Project 827), 71.76 m, delivered 5 August 2025. source
In build or trials 2026: Project 1014, 101.2 m, sea trials from Makkum (2026-05-21); Project 826, 80 m sailing yacht by Malcolm McKeon, Kaag (2026-04-15); Valor (Project 715) (2026-04-09). source
Leadership
Feadship Director and CEO and Chairman, Royal Van Lent: Jan-Bart Verkuyl — as of 2026-04-15 (named Feadship Director). source
Chief Commercial Officer and Feadship Director: Bas Nederpelt — as of 2026-04-10. source
CEO, Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw: Roderick de Vries — as of 2026-04-10. Same source.
Chief Projects Officer, De Vries: Rob de Vries — as of 2026-04-10. Same source.
CFO, De Vries: John Veldman (also spelled Veltman) — as of 2026-04-10. Same source.
Director, Makkum yard: Sijbrand de Vries — as of 2026-05-21. source
Sales Director: Maarten Jansen (also spelled Janssen) — as of 2026-06-06. source
Former: Henk de Vries, Feadship Director and De Vries CEO until 2025-05-01; now ambassador, supervisory board member and shareholder.
News 2023 to 2026
2026-09
Feadship reveals HIVE, a 115 m concept design.feadship.nl
2026-04
De Vries marks its leadership handover at Aalsmeer: Henk and Tom de Vries leave day-to-day management; Roderick de Vries (CEO), Rob de Vries (Chief Projects Officer), Bas Nederpelt (CCO and Feadship Director) and John Veldman (CFO) take over.feadship.nl
2026-04
Feadship debuts Project 826, an 80 m sailing yacht, a rare sail project for the yard.feadship.nl
2025-09
Feadship joins the Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization.feadship.nl
2025-07
Delivery of 101 m Moonrise; 118.8 m Breakthrough (fuel cells, built on speculation) presented at Monaco after delivery earlier in 2025.boatinternational.comfeadship.nl
2025-04
Henk de Vries retires on 1 May 2025 as Feadship Director and CEO of De Vries; Roderick de Vries becomes CEO, Bas Nederpelt becomes CCO and Feadship Director.maritimetechnology.nl
2024-09
Feadship launches Feadship Resale, a brokerage arm for its own yachts.feadship.nl
2024-05
Launch of 118.8 m Project 821 at the Amsterdam yard, the first Feadship with fuel cells.feadship.nl
