Three sectors of Germany’s shipbuilding industry are currently performing particularly well: naval vessels, cruise ships and yachts. One company that can confirm this trend in the yacht sector is Lürssen.
The Bremen-based yacht builder is already looking back on a record year. It is said that the company has never experienced a year quite like this before. This is because the shipyard completed six new builds in the first six months of 2026. These are the superyachts ‘Odisea’, ‘Deep Blue’, ‘Boardwalk’, ‘O3’, ‘Nausicaä’ and ‘Nixie’. All six yachts have now left northern Germany and are sailing in various regions around the world, the shipyard reports.
More than one in three of the 100 largest yachts is built by Lürssen
With these deliveries, the yacht builder has, according to its own statements, reached another milestone: there are now more than 30 Lürssen yachts over 100 metres in length in service worldwide. More than one in three of the world’s 100 largest yachts now comes from the German shipyard.
Nevertheless, Lürssen does not wish to define itself by size, but rather by its consistent refusal to follow trends. Owners are given the freedom to design their yacht exactly as they wish, and everything that is technically feasible is implemented. That is why, according to the shipyard, there is no distinctive or typical Lürssen style. The only common feature of all Lürssen yachts is their exceptional quality.
“Our task is to create the conditions, the know-how and the engineering capabilities to turn ideas into reality,” says Peter Lürssen. “Delivering six yachts in a single year is an extraordinary achievement, and everyone involved deserves the utmost recognition for this. Engineering is always a combination of technical expertise and creativity – the diversity of this year’s deliveries demonstrates this impressively.”
This year’s new builds range in length from 75 to 140 metres. According to the company, each yacht is unique, yet together they illustrate the enormous breadth of the shipyard’s capabilities. Around four years of precise craftsmanship and meticulous project management are required to coordinate the hundreds of thousands of working hours needed to build each individual yacht. That is why, with this year’s six deliveries, the focus is above all on the thousands of people whose work usually remains behind the scenes.
Six yachts, six designs
‘Nixie’, which Lürssen will unveil at the Monaco Yacht Show 2026, reinterprets the concept of a cabana lounge. It is characterised by a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. The yacht features a six-metre-wide pool positioned so far aft that it appears to float above the bathing platform, thereby creating additional outdoor space. Added to this is a specially developed stern hatch with a hydraulic Z-system, which, when open, sits flush with the deck and reveals a 270 m² beach club.
‘Nixie’ is powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system. An energy storage system is designed to enable efficient operation across a wide range of cruising profiles and to ensure greater comfort on board through reduced noise and vibration levels.
Two further yachts – whose names, according to Lürssen, remain confidential at the owners’ request – also feature technical innovations in the engine room. One has been fitted with a battery system that enables night-time operation at anchor using battery power alone. Another ranks among the most technologically advanced diesel-electric Lürssen yachts ever built and features electrically driven stabilisers in place of conventional hydraulic systems – a first, according to the shipyard, on a yacht over 100 metres in length.
Outside the engine room, too, numerous new solutions have been developed to fulfil the owners’ individual wishes. ‘O3’ is designed for extreme operating conditions. Extensive equipment enables expeditions, whilst generous comfort facilities ensure that long stays on board are pleasant. ‘Odisea’ reinterprets the classic main saloon: a structure consisting almost entirely of floor-to-ceiling textured glass creates a modern ‘beach house’ that visually blends the interior and exterior spaces.
“The Lürssen machine never stands still”
‘Nausicaä’ also posed significant challenges for the engineers with its large-scale glazing. The futuristic design by Australian industrial designer Marc Newson features a wide band of glass encircling the entire guest deck, as well as a large glass dome (‘Skydome’) – both of which, according to Lürssen, are unique in yacht building on this scale.
Instead of a traditional main saloon, “Nausicaä” also features an exceptionally large atrium in the stern, designed as a multi-storey, multifunctional gallery area. Also noteworthy is an elaborate hydraulic sled system that allows a large tender to be launched from a dry dock and retrieved again – a solution rarely seen in yacht building, according to the shipyard.
According to Lürssen, the classically designed “Boardwalk” provides a striking contrast to this. It is precisely its understated design that required a particularly discreet, perfectly integrated engineering feat. For the first time at Lürssen, it features a sliding deck hatch and a retractable staircase on the main deck. The technical basis for this was developed back in 2019 for what was then known as the “Flying Fox” (now “Hadar”). However, this is the first time a sliding outer deck has been combined with a staircase.
These innovations represent just a fraction of the technical developments incorporated into the six new Lürssen yachts.
“I am in the privileged position of already being able to see what’s coming next,” says Michael Breman, Senior Sales Director at Lürssen. “The Lürssen machine never stands still. Every conversation with a new or long-standing client begins with a blank canvas. That’s what makes our work so exciting. No two owners envisage the future in exactly the same way, and no two Lürssen yachts should ever be identical. That is precisely what drives us to keep thinking ahead. Every project offers the chance to push the boundaries of what is possible a little further.”
