Dreams coming true

FEADSHIP, SHORT FOR THE FIRST EXPORT ASSOCIATION OF DUTCH SHIPBUILDERS, WAS FOUNDED IN 1949. SIX YARDS AND DE VOOGT NAVAL ARCHITECTS AGREED TO PITCH THEIR HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS ON THE AMERICAN MARKET UNDER THE FEADSHIP NAME.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF FEADSHIP.

Today there are three parties in Feadship: Two of the original yards; Van Lent (1849) and De Vries (1906), and De Voogt Naval Architects (1913). In 2021, Feadship continues to fercely move forward with new assets to expand its feet, while fnding innovative ways to establish the extent of eco-friendliness of superyachts and reduce resource consumption.

Emerging from the yard in Aalsmeer in April 2021 for fnal fnishing and sea trials is the newest member of the Feadship feet. The 55m Somnium, Latin for dream, is designed to take three generations of family members on a series of memorable world cruises. Somnium is built as the frst pure custom superyacht for an experienced Northern European owner. The yacht has been designed by Studio De Voogt, with a cosy interior design from FM Architettura. Those who choose to stay on board are equally spoilt for choice on Somnium’s vast outside decks, which include an exclusive lounge area on the foredeck, a pool with adjustable foor and counterfow on the aft deck, and an inviting jacuzzi island on the sun deck. Interior highlights to be revealed in due course include a gymnasium with a fold-down platform, a full-beam owners’ stateroom with a balcony, and four roomy guest suites on the lower deck.

As these initial images of Somnium’s smooth exterior profle show, the owner is also a keen fan of fast cars. Her aluminium hull looks the part and was also chosen to enhance effciency and ensure the shallow drafts required for exploring at will. Once anchored at their destination, the family can access all the benefts of an enclosed tender garage and dedicated dive equipment store. Somnium is set to be a salient reminder of how many fne facilities people can enjoy on a 55m yacht when a visionary owner teams up with the most experienced design and construction minds. >>

Exterior design Studio de Voogt Interior design FM Architettura d’Interni Hull 704 Year 2021 Length 55.20m Speed 15 knots / 12 knots Beam 9.80m Draft 2.46m Main engines 2x MTU 10v2000m72, 900kW each @ 2,250rpm

2x Zenoro, 200ekW

71,000l 15,200l

Other promising developments at Feadship have been seen with a measurement tool designed to allow the entire superyacht industry to objectively assess the environmental credentials of existing yachts and new concepts. Initiated by Bram Jongepier, Senior Design Specialist at Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects, the Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI) has over the past two years been taken to the next level under the auspices of the Water Revolution. The ultimate goal of stimulating technologies that reduce energy demand and enhance system effciency is now much closer. “I could never have imagined that my brainwave at three in the morning one night in November 2018 could have led us to this stage. We now have a very powerful group of yacht building colleagues, yards, naval architects, and knowledge institutes collaborating on the YETI, and the achievements have been impressive”, states Mr Jongepier. “I could never have imagined that my brainwave at three in the morning one night in November 2018 could have led us to this stage. We now have a very powerful group of yacht building colleagues, yards, naval architects and knowledge institutes collaborating on the YETI and the achievements have been impressive.”

The original challenge that Mr Jongepier identifed and Feadship initially set out to solve was the lack of comparison models for assessing how eco-friendly superyachts are. Yachts sail at a variety of speeds, they are not like commercial vessels. Nor are they switched off when moored, so any comparison with car rating systems is invalid. While yachts provide accommodation for guests, they do not stay at the same location all the time and hence cannot be compared to hotel buildings either. Being able to evaluate the ecological impact of a yacht should enable improvements by taking a life-cycle approach. Examples include enhanced hydrodynamics (fow optimisation, propeller effciency, displacement), systems (effcient machinery, heat recovery, insulation), materials (recycling, sustainable sourcing), and the local environment (underwater noise and zero discharge emission capture).

Recognising that a yacht index would only be truly effective when adopted by the superyacht sector at large, Feadship was pleased to hand the YETI baton over to the Water Revolution Foundation in March 2019. A great deal has been achieved over the past two years with this joint-industry approach, with a focus on fnding clear defnitions for the operational profle of yachts and their consumed energy. A frst working model is now up and running that calculates emissions and as such, environmental impact, expressing these in socalled ecopoints. The current calculations consider, amongst others, the effects of partload effciencies of engines, shore power consumption, battery banks, sail power, exhaust treatment, and waste heat recovery. The next step is to fnd a common denominator to make a comparison between yachts. A verifable functional unit of luxury is needed so that the same experience can be provided to clients by using less resources. Efforts made to reduce that resource consumption will then be refected in the ultimate YETI score.