Amsterdam has its fair share of famous features (aside from Amsterdam Yacht Services, of course), from the clattering throng of myriad bicycles to the enchanting fan of canals that radiate through the city centre. Those canals also play host to more than 100 cruise and tripper vessels that offer tourists a unique view of the city by day or a spectacular floating dinner or drinks by night. But there’s a challenge facing the operators of those vessels – as the city looks to improve its eco footprint and reduce pollution, so it has been mandated that all the commercial canal cruise boats should be converted to be zero-emission. Although the deadline has been pushed back several times in the past, the time has come for the changes to be made – and Amsterdam Yacht Services is right there assisting with the problem by developing an ingenious solution for its customers.
“Our workshop at Amsterdam Yacht Services does a lot of work for the canal boat operators such as Lovers and Stromma,” enthuses Robert Binnekade, managing director at Amsterdam Yacht Services. “With the zero-emission deadline upon us, we have been working with Lovers – who also operate in other tour sectors and other cities such as Copenhagen – to assist them with the move. It’s been a really nice cooperation with the customer – they employed a designer to create a solution together with our inhouse team, and we went through multiple iterations to get a good design.”
The solution involves pre-building new hull sections complete with new propulsion package that, when each of the canal boats comes in for scheduled maintenance, can simply serve as a plug-and-play replacement for the existing hull sections which carry conventional diesel propulsion packages. “The new subsections are constructed with all elements already fitted, including an electric motor, battery pack, shaft and shaft seals, propeller, rudder etc,” says Binnekade. “All that’s needed then is to cut the equivalent existing section out of the boat and fit and weld the new section in.”
It speaks to the skills of the AYS team that they have been involved in the project from the start, from helping develop the design concept and engineering to sourcing the cutting packages and fabricating the new sections ready to be fitted – as well, of course, as undertaking the cut-and-weld replacement works and subsequent hull finishing.
“It’s another example of how we approach interesting or challenging refit or retrofit projects, by looking at the project from the inside out from a technical point of view rather than just adding new bits of equipment to the existing ship and then trying to tie everything together,” Binnekade asserts. “We started this project one and a half years ago, and now we’re at the point where the new sections are completed and we’re just waiting for each boat to come out of the water. These are busy vessels for a commercial.
From fishing vessels, steel commercial ships and classic Dutch barges to yachts and superyachts, Amsterdam Yacht Services has welcomed vessels of every type to its extensive facilities. Now, as the shipyard continues to grow its business by offering its broad expertise to a range of sectors including classic yacht and superyacht refit, it is expanding […]
Steering toward success It’s one thing being able to offer first class facilities for maintenance, refit and rebuild projects, but it’s quite another to be able to back that up with an experienced team for whom the demands of design and the pressures of time are just two more things to be taken in their […]
December 2023 marked another significant milestone for Amsterdam Yacht Service, as its highly experienced team carried out its first ever marriage of a hull and superstructure. The event took place over the course of just one day for the 64-metre Hakvoort motor yacht (build number, xxx, the shipyard’s newest project) which has a steel hull […]
A measure of a good shipyard is the range of services it can offer and the range of works it can undertake, and there’s no doubt that Amsterdam Yacht Services has those elements covered thanks to its background as a commercially orientated shipyard. The measure of a great shipyard, however, is not just the scope […]
It’s fair to say that wooden boats inspire passion like few other craft. For Robert Binnekade, that passion was sparked by a classic Dutch one-design racing dayboat that still draws ardent owners for its competitive fleet. Binnekade acquired a 1947 example of the class, number 61 name Regenbouw (Dutch for rainbow), from an old friend. […]
While Amsterdam Yacht Service has its roots and heritage in steel-hulled fishing vessels and classic Dutch barges, in the last decade the team has made a deliberate shift toward a focus on yacht and superyacht refit and new construction. As part of this shift, the shipyard has invested in a new wood workshop, occupying part […]
Busier than ever as we launch into 2024, recent activities at the Amsterdam Yacht Service premesis in Zaandam have included numerous highly efficient works on a grand total of seven Windcat catamarans (offshore crew transfer vessels) which have been situated at the shipyard for maintenance. As for the works themselves, these include the hauling out […]
The 22.9-metre 2000-built Kuipers motor yacht Nageira has been reunited with her owner following successful winter works at the Amsterdam Yacht Service facility in Zaandam, beginning in October and being completed between Christmas and New Year. For her third visit to the Amsterdam Yacht Service facilities to date, the yacht (which originally cruised under the […]
Following the successful completion in October of works on its most recent major sailing yacht refit project, a 56-metre Perini Navi sailing superyacht, the Zaandem-based shipyard Amsterdam Yacht Service has taken the opportunity to undertake some major renovations and upgrades to its facilities. The sheer size of this iconic 56-metre Perini Navi sailing yacht meant […]
Zaandam-based shipyard Amsterdam Yacht Service has revealed that one of its major sailing yacht projects, a 56-metre Perini Navi superyacht, has almost finished her significant refit works. Taking the form of an extensive refit carried out in cooperation with the vessel’s highly experienced owner, the ongoing works are expected to be completed this October. With […]
Members of the Amsterdam Yacht Builders team will spend two days in and around Port Hercules this week as they visit the Monaco Yacht Show. If you would like to meet up and discuss any potential project we would be delighted to do so on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 of September. It’s sure to […]
We are very pleased to reveal that we are carrying out works on the iconic and award-winning 56-metre Perini Navi sailing yacht in the form of an extensive, cooperative refit with her owner, with works slated for completion in July this year. As another ongoing project, with works beginning in November 2022, the 26-metre Moonen […]
The 22.9-metre 2000-built Kuipers yacht Lucky Jack (now renamed Nageira) had an eventful yet ultimately successful stay at our shipyard. With the works beginning as a haul-out and respray of one of her topsides, she was placed into a specially-designed container hall covered by a tent while these were completed. The second round of works […]
When your yard is located in the greatest city in the world, and the world’s biggest leisure marine exhibition comes to town, then you know you’re in for a busy week! Amsterdam Yacht Builders will be present at all three days of this year’s METSTRADE show, which will take over the RAI complex from om […]
Our bespoke refit of the 26-metre sailing yacht Arrabida, (ex. Zoetigheid) has been successfully delivered to the owner’s scope and complete satisfaction. This beautiful aluminium schooner was given a superyacht-quality livery on her topsides, a major paint job which required the AYB experts to remove all the stainless steel fittings and the many water stays […]
Two days in and around Port Hercules Members of the Amsterdam Yacht Builders team will spend two days in and around Port Hercules next week as they visit the Monaco Yacht Show. If you would like to meet up and discuss any potential project we would be delighted to do so on the Tuesday before […]
By Georgia Tindale A vision of a more eco-friendlyfuture for yachting. What do you get when you combine a prime location with deep technical expertise, a historic shipyard dating back to 1921 and currently the largest travel lift in the Netherlands (480 tonnes). The answer: Amsterdam Yacht Builders. A fresh entry to the superyacht scene […]
His Majesty the King officially inaugurated operation of the IJmuiden sea lock on Wednesday, 26 January 2022. With a push of a button, King Willem Alexander opened the inner door of the world’s largest sea lock from the Lock Operations Centre (SOC).
Eurotank Amsterdam (ETA, part of VTTI) is investing in the storage of biofuels. After a successful trial, the gas oil tanks at the terminal are being converted. This makes the tanks suitable for storing various types of biofuels. These biofuels, including Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), are produced from used vegetable oils and animal fats, among […]
Leveraging on a century of experience and managed by people with a first-class reputation in the superyacht sector, Amsterdam Yacht Builders is based at a prime location in the Dutch capital. The new, highly experienced owners of a yard which dates back to 1921 are taking a down-to-earth approach to new builds, refits and maintenance […]