Heesen put the "Oslo24" project on keel

The owners and their family attended the keel-laying ceremony in person and welded their "lucky coins" to section three, where the IMO number was also engraved. The ceremony was attended by a Lloyd's Register surveyor, who also signed off on this first phase of the yacht's construction. Project "Oslo24" is based on the proven 50-metre platform "Steel Class", which Clifford Denn designed for Heesen.

The experienced owner opted for a pool with a glass floor, an open fireplace on deck and a hybrid drive system. His yacht should be cleaner, quieter and more efficient than comparable formats with conventional diesel engines. At the heart of the system are the two MTU engines (8V4000 M63, IMO Tier III), each coupled to a 135-kilowatt water-cooled Danfoss electric motor on the same propeller shaft. This streamlined configuration offers versatility, flexible power management and redundancy with three operating modes: Silent, Economy and Cruising. Diesel and electric motors work together or separately, in any combination, for both propulsion and hotel needs.

Friso Visser, CCO of Heesen, commented: "We were the first shipyard that dared to take the financial risk of building hybrid yachts without a client, i.e. on spec. 'Be the change you want to see in the world' is our mantra. Today, this change is real. It's great to see that customers trust our systems and choose to install them in their highly customised yachts to reduce their environmental footprint."

"The owner of 'Oslo24' and his family are involved in every aspect of this project," says Stefan Zucker from owner's representative Zucker und Partner. "That makes it an even more exciting project for us." For the interior, the company is liaising with Italian designer Luca Dini. The contrast between dark, high-gloss and light, matt wooden surfaces with a ribbed texture reminiscent of forests mixes with soft leather in warm tones to create a cosy environment that offers guests a place of refuge when the air outside is fresh and cool. Which in turn fits the project name very well. "Oslo24" is scheduled for delivery in March 2024.