Heesen christens Project Maria

YN 18350 ‘Project Maia’ underwent a technical launch and was christened Omaha on 20 April 2018 at the shipyard in Oss.

The project was sold in December 2017 by Chris Collins of Ocean Independence, in close collaboration with Thom Conboy from Heesen USA.

The 50 metre steel model is a brand new design pitched just below the 500GT threshold. This replaces the highly successful and award-winning 47 metre steel class, arguably the most successful steel yacht series in the industry with no less than 13 sister ships built and launched since 2001.

Omaha is a powerful combination of engineering expertise and ground-breaking design by Heesen’s in-house team. Designed with a traditional full-displacement steel hull giving her fantastic stability, she is powered by two MTU 8V4000 M63 engines and is expected to reach a top speed of 15 knots, with a cruising range of 3,800 nautical miles at 12 knots. These figures will be confirmed during the extensive sea trials that will take place on the North Sea in the next few weeks.

Omaha will be delivered to her proud new owners at the end of June. A sister ship is currently under construction under the project name Triton (YN 18850) and is available for delivery in 2020.