Oceaneria Yacht Industry Report
By the Oceaneria Recruitment Team

Feadship ( https://feadship.nl/ ) has launched the 89 metre Project 828, now known as Milky Way, from its Royal Van Lent shipyard in Amsterdam.

The launch was first reported by SuperYacht Times, with additional coverage appearing across BOAT International, YachtBuyer, Yacht Charter Fleet and several yacht industry channels that have been tracking the project throughout construction.

One of the first things that stood out while researching Milky Way was where the yacht sits within Feadship's current portfolio.

Over the past few years, Feadship has attracted significant attention through projects such as Breakthrough, the hydrogen fuel cell powered superyacht, and Sakura, which has been publicly positioned around next generation diesel electric propulsion. Milky Way appears to sit in a different category. The public information released so far focuses far more heavily on owner lifestyle, volume, design and onboard living than on advanced propulsion technology.

From Project 828 To Milky Way

According to SuperYacht Times, Project 828 was sold during 2023 before entering the final stages of construction in the Netherlands.

The project has been under development for several years. OCCAM ( https://www.occam.uk.com/ ), a specialist yacht consultancy focused on owner representation and project management, referenced its involvement in Project 828 several years before launch, highlighting the long timelines often involved in large custom yacht construction.

While a launch may last a few hours, the engineering, procurement, design work, technical planning and construction behind it often span several years.

We spent some time looking for ownership information but could not find a reliable source confirming who commissioned the yacht. Several publications reference the project, but none identify the owner. At this stage, that information appears to remain private.

Built By Feadship's Royal Van Lent Shipyard

Milky Way was launched from Feadship's Royal Van Lent facility in Amsterdam.

Feadship remains one of the most respected names in custom yacht construction and continues to compete directly with builders such as Lürssen, Oceanco, Amels, Benetti, Sanlorenzo and Heesen in the large custom yacht market.

The Amsterdam facility itself was developed to accommodate increasingly larger projects and forms an important part of Feadship's long term construction strategy.

Milky Way is not the largest yacht currently under construction by the Dutch builder, but at 89 metres she remains firmly within the upper tier of today's custom superyacht market.

The Design Team Behind The Project

The yacht's exterior was designed by Studio De Voogt, Feadship's in house design and naval architecture team.

Studio De Voogt has been involved in many of Feadship's best known projects over the years, including Savannah, Symphony and Viva.

The interior design comes from British studio RWD (https://www.rwd.co.uk). Interestingly, they also have one of the more unusual yacht design websites we've come across. We're not entirely sure whether it's still being developed, intentionally minimalist, or simply designed differently to most studios, but it's certainly memorable.

RWD has been active in yacht design since the early 1990s and has worked on a number of major projects including Faith, Hasna, Breakthrough and Project 1014. The studio has become one of the most recognised names in yacht design and regularly collaborates with many of the world's leading shipyards.

Looking At The Specifications

According to published specifications, Milky Way measures approximately 89 metres in length and carries a beam of 13.4 metres.

Beam refers to the yacht's maximum width and is one of the biggest contributors to interior volume and usable living space.

The yacht is reported to have a gross tonnage of approximately 2,623GT and a draught of 3.7 metres.

Several industry publications have noted that Milky Way carries above average volume for a yacht in the 80 to 90 metre category.

Construction consists of a steel hull paired with an aluminium superstructure. This remains one of the most common combinations for large displacement yachts because it combines the strength of steel with the weight savings offered by aluminium higher up in the vessel.

Milky Way also features a full displacement hull, a design typically associated with comfort, stability, long range cruising and substantial onboard volume.

One design feature highlighted by Feadship is the yacht's purposefully long bow. According to the builder, the design helps push volume further aft, creating larger and more usable exterior deck spaces.

A Yacht Built Around The Onboard Experience

One of the most notable features aboard Milky Way is the main deck swimming pool.

BOAT International reported that the pool measures approximately 16.7 metres long and three metres wide, making it one of the standout leisure features on board.

Feadship itself noted that the owner's enthusiasm for swimming influenced the scale of the installation.

The yacht is also reported to include spa and wellness facilities.

Taken together, the pool, wellness spaces, beam, volume and deck layout suggest a yacht designed around spending significant time on board rather than simply travelling between destinations.

Technical Information Still To Be Released

One area where public information remains surprisingly limited is the propulsion package.

We spent some time reviewing Feadship's official information, along with coverage from several major yacht publications, and could not find confirmed details relating to the yacht's engines, hybrid systems, battery storage, solar integration or broader energy management systems.

Given Feadship's recent work on projects such as Breakthrough and Sakura, we would have loved to learn more about the technical plant behind Milky Way.

At this stage, those details do not appear to have been publicly released.

If additional technical specifications become available in the future, particularly around propulsion, power generation and onboard energy systems, we'll revisit this publication and update it accordingly.

How Milky Way Fits Into Feadship's Current Portfolio

While researching Milky Way, we noticed that Feadship currently has several very different projects moving through its pipeline.

On one side, you have Breakthrough, which has attracted attention for its hydrogen fuel cell technology.

On the other, you have Milky Way, where the public information is much more focused on volume, design and owner lifestyle.

That contrast is interesting because it shows how broad Feadship's current portfolio has become.

The company is simultaneously building technology focused projects, highly confidential owner builds, large displacement cruising yachts and some of the largest custom yachts currently under construction anywhere in the world.

Milky Way appears to sit comfortably in the middle of that portfolio.

Oceaneria View

Milky Way is an interesting addition to Feadship's current portfolio because it sits between the company's highly publicised technology projects and its traditional custom yacht builds.

While Feadship has attracted attention through projects such as Breakthrough and Sakura, Milky Way appears to focus more heavily on owner lifestyle, volume and private cruising.

The vessel's dimensions, pool design and above average internal volume suggest a yacht intended for significant time on board rather than short seasonal use.

We would have liked more information around the propulsion package, hybrid systems and technical plant, but that information does not appear to be publicly available at this stage.

If additional technical specifications are released, they would add another layer to understanding how this yacht fits into Feadship's broader development strategy.

We'll continue monitoring the project and, if further information becomes available, we'll update this publication with additional findings.