Lürssen – The No. 1 brand for large yachts
”My grandfather built the world’s first motorboat in 1886. My dream is to be the first to build a yacht without a combustion engine.
Peter Lürssen
German heritage at its finest
One of the premier shipyards in Europe, Lürssen is a trusted name in yacht building. The brand is renowned for its new construction yachts that are as beautiful as they are powerful, functional and innovative. “To lead in terms of quality and performance, that should be my company’s reputation.” This ambition of company founder Friedrich Lürßen in 1875 still characterizes the philosophy of the Bremen-based shipyard today. The firm’s deep-rooted connection to shipbuilding and German seafaring excellence is evident in every hull launched by the renowned builder. All Lürssen yachts are custom built to owners’ specifications with an uncompromising dedication to quality and style. Lürssen builds yachts from 55 m in length to larger than (180m). Lürssen’s advanced craftspeople, technicians, naval architects and specialized engineers collaborate flexibly with one another and yacht owners to create bold, poetic works of art.
With eight production facilities in North Germany, Lürssen has highly specialized shipyard equipment at its disposal which enables more than 2,800 employees to build, overhaul and repair ships. A central characteristic of the owner operated shipbuilding company is its independence from any kind of outside influence. The quality of the products alone is the measure of all things.
The boat yard founded in Bremen-Aumund without access to water demonstrated its leading role in terms of quality and performance as early as 1886, when Friedrich Lürßen, in cooperation with automaker Gottlieb Daimler, constructed one of the first three motorboats in the world. Only three years later, the staff, which had in the meanwhile grown to sixty employees, completed the thousandth boat. And with the new location in Bremen-Vegesack added in 1904, Lürssen gained a direct connection to the water. In 1924, the company supplied the first models for the flourishing yacht sector to customers in the USA. Another milestone followed in 1956, when the German navy became one of the shipyard’s major customers and is still among the company’s biggest clients in naval shipbuilding.
At the end of the 1980s, the current owners and Peter and Friedrich Lürßen took the decision to intensify the construction and manufacture of individual luxury yachts, establishing it as a second business activity alongside naval shipbuilding. This has proven to be a success and together with renowned designers such as Jon Bannenberg and Tim Heywood, around a third of the world’s 100 largest yachts have been launched by the Lürssen company – including such milestones in the shipbuilding industry as Carinthia VII, Octopus, Pelorus, Rising Sun, Azzam, Dilbar or the sailing yacht EOS.
Lürssen cultivates its unique independence on the world’s markets primarily in the interest of its customers, for this keeps the company free to choose systems that match the customers’ desire for national and international technologies. Decisive criteria in this context are always performance capability, quality, safety and reliability of the products, which are constantly being developed on the platform of time-tested, customer-specific solutions.
The exclusive yachts from Lürssen also enjoy an internationally excellent reputation when it comes to quality and performance. In this segment, Lürssen is positioned in the market as a family with deep roots in shipbuilding. The individual wishes of the customers are the measure of all things, following the motto “Lürssen Yachts are as individual as their owners”. The spectrum of the yachts, which are between 55 and 200 metres long and designed by leading ship designers, ranges from elegant, daring or poetical up to timeless, impressive or innovative.
In addition, customers also appreciate proverbial German precision work at the shipyard when their yachts – from whatever manufacturer – are repaired or modified. Here Lürssen always pursues an ambitious goal: the service life and performance capability of the overhauled yacht should match that of a new ship. While full-scale refits and conversions are carried out at their shipyards in Germany, Lürssen is also well equipped to perform technical upgrades onsite anywhere in the world.
As a family-run shipyard, Lürssen sees itself as having a special responsibility not only to its customers, but in equal measure to its employees as well. Therefore, the 2,800 people rely on traditional values such as stability and loyalty and long-term perspectives. Beyond that both the Lürssen family and the whole company see it as an obligation to reduce as far as possible the effects of the yachts on the environment. For this reason, we are constantly investing in energy technologies which have led to great progress in the area of sustainability.
”All latest-generation ships are marked by improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions of soot, CO2 and noise.
Peter Lürssen
Moreover, Lürssen is the world’s first shipbuilding company to make use of the heat given off by the generators and propulsion engines on a large motor yacht to a large degree to produce potable water by means of desalination. Ecological awareness is the second, equally important side of Friedrich Lürssen’s ambition to lead in terms of quality and performance.
The fact that Lürssen is always at the forefront of innovations shows their recent announcement that they are building their first yacht with fuel cell technology for a pioneering and technology driven client. The fuel cell is flanking the conventional generators and is a big step to an emission free Lürssen yacht. This innovative technology makes it possible to anchor emission-free for 15 days or cruise 1000 miles at slow speed. Peter Lürssen states: „My grandfather built the world’s first motorboat in 1886, my dream is to be the first to build a yacht without a combustion engine.”
Today, 29 of the Top 100 yachts in the world have been built by Lürssen (9 of the Top 20). The founder’s dream to become one of the leading shipbuilders is still present in the spirit of Lürssen and all the people who work there.
About Lürssen
The German yacht builder Lürssen has earned an international reputation as the specialist in exclusive, bespoke yachts of outstanding engineering mastery.
The privately run company was founded in 1875 and remains solely in the hands of the fourth generation of the Lürssen family. With a workforce of 2,800 employees, Lürssen maintains eight state-of-the-art facilities in northern Germany. The headquarters are located in Bremen.
Lürssen is prepared to face bright future with new technologies dynamics as well as crafting its impact and ESG policies through strategic partnerships with reputable foundations in the making.
