Another Milestone: Damen Yachting Reveals New YS 53 Design

Following a highly detailed 2-year design and development phase, the first steel cutting at Damen Yachting’s Antalya facility has brought the stunning YS 53 to life.

Damen Yachting, the yacht building division of the global Damen Shipyards group, is renowned for its attention to detail and entrepreneural spirit. Family-run for nearly a century, Damen have grown from having humble beginnings as a simple boat builder to a multinational company with over 35 shipyards worldwide, delivering more than 6,500 ships, including high-tech naval ships and offshore research ships.

Their focus revolves around yachting solutions, including Amels superyachts, SeaXplorer expedition yachts and the Yacht Support Range. With a highly diverse portfolio, their latest design is no stranger to breaking boundaries, after replacing the original Yacht Support YS 5009, built in 2009. This new, unique yacht is a symbol of a remarkable shift in Damen's strategy, and offers innovative owners the opportunity to seek out new thrilling ocean adventures, as Rob Luijendijk, Director Sales and Product Management, explains:

"Over the last decade we’ve helped Owners to realise an amazing variety of very challenging dreams,” Rob says. “Each dream requires an innovative solution for something that has never been done before. So we have a very experienced team and a deep understanding of how to support our clients. We realised that our new series needed to be both highly flexible and customisable, but also designed from scratch for the yachting market. That’s how the YS 53 began.”

With an overall beam of 9.20m and a fully loaded draft of 3.05m, she also has a gross tonnage of 500, and a maximum speed of 19 knots. In terms of accommodation, she can host up to a maximum of 16 guests, plus 10 crew members and a captain. The vessel also features a 15-tonne deck crane and two Rolls Royce MTU main engines

Not only is YS 53 the epitome of class and elegance, she was also designed with highly demanding performance, efficiency and comfort in mind. “The YS 53 exterior design starts with a familiar functionality, but there is more than meets the eye,” says Wouter Kleijpoel, the Design Manager who led the team of Damen Yachting designers who created the concept. “It’s playful, muscular and emboldening, you believe anything is possible. I think it’s an exciting design."

We look forward to witnessing YS 53 carry out some exciting voyages, along with more Damen Yachting milestones.