When a yacht passes a certain size, the conversation narrows to a short list of builders. The very largest private yachts come from a handful of yards in Germany and the Netherlands, and the name on the hull shapes everything from the waiting list to the resale value years later. If you are commissioning at the top of the market, understanding Lürssen, Feadship and Oceanco is the starting point, because each yard sells a different idea of what a great yacht is.
Key Takeaways & The 5Ws
- Lurssen, Feadship and Oceanco build most of the world’s largest superyachts from Germany and the Netherlands.
- Lurssen built Azzam, the longest private yacht at 180.6 metres, and works at the fully custom end.
- Feadship launches about two yachts a year and is the name brokers most associate with resale value.
- Oceanco built the 127 metre Koru and added a semi custom platform called Simply Custom in 2024.
- A respected builder name supports insurance, class and resale, though a yacht is never an investment.
- Who is this for?
- Owners commissioning at the top of the market and anyone weighing builder reputation.
- What is it?
- A buyer profile of the three leading superyacht yards and what each one stands for.
- When does it matter most?
- Years before launch, since build slots are the real constraint.
- Where does it apply?
- Bremen for Lurssen, and the Netherlands for Feadship and Oceanco.
- Why consider it?
- The name on the hull shapes the waiting list, the quality and the resale value.
Lürssen and the Race for Length
Lürssen is the German yard that keeps building the biggest boats in the world. Founded in 1875 in Bremen by Friedrich Lürssen, it remains family owned into its fourth generation, with facilities at Bremen Vegesack, Lemwerder and Berne, according to Wikipedia. Its record speaks for itself. Lürssen built Azzam, at 180.6 metres the longest private yacht in the world, and Dilbar, the largest by gross tonnage at around 15,917 GT, as Superyachts.com records. Names like Octopus and Rising Sun sit in the same back catalogue.
The yard works at the fully custom end of the market, where each yacht is engineered from a blank sheet. The scale of its order book matches the scale of its boats. BOAT International's Global Order Book for 2025 lists Lürssen with 12 projects totalling 1,254 metres and an average build length of 104.5 metres, in its published Global Order Book. A commission at this level is a multi year project. Brokerage analysis suggests typical waits of three to four years, stretching to four to six years for the largest builds over 80 metres, according to the brokerage blog Hype Luxury, a figure worth reading as industry opinion rather than audited data.
Feadship and the Case for Resale Value
Feadship is the Dutch name most associated with build quality and lasting value. Its roots reach back to 1849, and the modern partnership was formed in 1949 by Henri de Voogt as a cooperative of the shipyards Royal Van Lent and Koninklijke De Vries, as Wikipedia sets out. The yard builds exclusively to full custom, in steel and aluminium, and launches roughly two yachts a year, a deliberately small output that keeps each project under close control.
Feadship has pushed into the size territory once owned by Lürssen. Its largest delivery so far is the 118.8 metre Project 821, according to its BOAT International profile, and the yard ranked third by total length in the 2025 Global Order Book with 1,525 metres in build, per the Global Order Book. The yard's reputation rests on how its yachts hold up over time. Brokers argue that a Feadship holds its value better than any other builder after the fifth year, with waits of three to five years, in the same Hype Luxury analysis. Treat the resale claim as a strong industry view, but the underlying point holds. The name carries weight on the brokerage market.
Oceanco and the Move Into Semi Custom
Oceanco is the younger of the three and has built some of the most ambitious yachts of recent years. Founded in 1987, with yards at Alblasserdam and Rotterdam, the company has delivered around 40 yachts in total, as Wikipedia notes. Its standout project is Koru, the 127 metre Y721 built for Jeff Bezos, which is the world's largest sailing yacht and the largest yacht ever built in the Netherlands, according to BOAT International.
Oceanco remains primarily a full custom builder, but it has opened a second route. In 2024 it launched a semi custom platform called Simply Custom, aimed at owners who want the yard's pedigree with a faster and more defined path to delivery, as YachtBuyer reports. Like its Dutch neighbour, the yard delivers around two yachts a year, keeping volume low and attention high.
What the Builder Name Does for Resale
The reason buyers wait years and pay a premium for these three names is partly emotional and partly financial. A yacht from a top yard is easier to insure, easier to keep in class and easier to sell, because the next buyer recognises the build quality and the engineering behind it. When you commission from Lürssen, Feadship or Oceanco, you are buying into a documented standard that follows the hull through its life.
That does not make a superyacht an investment in the way a stock is. Yachts are depreciating assets with heavy running costs, and you should never buy one expecting a profit. What the right builder gives you is resilience. A well kept yacht from a respected yard tends to hold value better and sell faster than a comparable boat from an unknown builder, which is exactly why the order books at these yards stay full even as prices climb.
How to Choose Between Them
The choice comes down to what you value most. If you want the absolute largest and most complex yacht engineered without compromise, Lürssen has built more record holders than anyone. If lasting value and a reputation for quality matter most, Feadship is the name brokers reach for first. If you want Dutch pedigree with a quicker, more defined build path, Oceanco's semi custom route is worth a serious look. Whichever you choose, the build slot is the real constraint, so the conversation should start years before you want to be on the water.
For more on choosing a builder, see our guide to the best yacht brands, look at the latest launches in the best new luxury yachts of 2025, see how the name affects resale value, and browse the full yachting section.
Stefanos Moschopoulos
Stefanos Moschopoulos founded The Luxury Playbook in Athens and has spent the better part of a decade following the auction calendar, the en primeur releases, and the watchmakers, gallerists, and shipyards the magazine covers. He writes the field guides and listicles that anchor the Connoisseur section — pieces built on Phillips and Christie's results, Liv-ex movements, and conversations with collectors he has met across Geneva, Bordeaux, Basel, and Monaco. His own collecting habits sit closer to watches and wine than art, and it shows in the level of detail in the magazine's coverage of those categories. Under his direction, The Luxury Playbook now publishes long-form field guides, market-defining year-end listicles, and the Voices interview series with the founders behind the houses and the brands.
