On 14 May, YN 19055 Project Castor was launched at Heesen’s Dutch facility in Oss, on schedule for its delivery in August.

Thanks to the physical-distancing measures adopted early on by the yard, both in their production processes and in the offices, Heesen managed to carry on work with as little disruption as possible following Dutch governmental guidelines.

By halving the number of employees working in the shipyard at any one time by working in two shifts, the yard did not lose productivity and increased flexibility.

Rupert Connor from Luxury Yacht Group, who represents the client, commented: “We have been beyond impressed with how the Heesen team adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have adjusted their working hours to increase social distancing while retaining optimal man-hours on our project and preserving an on-time, high-quality delivery that was no small feat in these challenging times.”

At 760GT, Project Castor is the most voluminous 55-metre currently offered by the Northern European shipyard. Powered by two MTU 8V 4000 M63 diesel main engines, she is predicted to reach a top speed of 15.5 knots and will boast a range of 4,500 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 13 knots.