Alblasserdam builder of the largest Dutch yachts, 80 to 130 m, bought by Valve founder Gabe Newell in 2025 and building a vertical group around it.
1987
Founded
Gabe Newell, since Aug 2025
Owner
not published
Revenue
Marcel Onkenhout, since 2010
CEO
80 to 130 m
Range
Mercury, Aluship, Lateral, Alewijnse, Winel
Group
What happened, 2023 to 2026
Apr 2023Build127 m sailing yacht Koru delivered
Oct 2023BuildSimply Custom: an 80 m line on one platform
Aug 2025OwnerGabe Newell buys Oceanco; Barwani family exits after 15 years
Aug 2025DealAlewijnse, the systems integrator, joins the group
Sep 2025Deal130 m Y727 confirmed, the largest ever; second Zwijndrecht site bought
Nov 2025BuildTwo 111 m yachts delivered in one month
What it adds up to. A new private owner is buying the supply chain (hulls, superstructures, systems, doors) while the management stays.
Who runs it
Chief Executive Officersince 2010
Sales Directorsince 2020
Executive director, Life Cycle Supportsince 2024
Head of Designsince 2022
Director Finance & Controlsince 2000
Chief Financial Officer (Monaco)since 1995
Project Directorsince 2024
Organisation. New private owner; CEO since 2010 with group companies for hulls, superstructures, systems
What it shows for a new yard. A long-serving CEO, now with an owner who funds vertical integration.
Former leaders now elsewhere13 people who held a top or senior seat here
now Director General / General Manager at Astilleros de Mallorca
now Technical director at Vertom Group
now Chief Executive Officer at ICT Shipyard
now Senior Sales Manager at OMNIYAT
now Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Econowind
now Head of Innovation at Koninklijke de Vries Scheepsbouw te Aalsmeer
now Director Kaag Shipyard at Royal Van Lent Shipyard
now Manager Production at Mercury Yacht Construction BV (an Oceanco Company)
now Manager Engineering at Vitters Shipyard
now Company Owner at The NERA Company B.V.
now Chief Technical Officer at Hydro Tec
now Director Design & Development / Engineering at Heesen Yachts
now Business Unit General Manager Projects Maritime at Bakker Sliedrecht
The top team as read on LinkedIn21 people read as staff, October 2026
CEO since 2010 (from General Manager Marketing & Sales) over a directors team of project directors who each own a 100 m plus build, two Sales Directors (one from project management, one from design), a Director Strategic Alliances (the former marketing director), an executive director for Life Cycle Support, Director Finance & Control (two in the title) plus a Monaco CFO, HR Director, CIO, Head of Procurement, Head of Design; a non-executive director and a director from the former owning family on the board.
Oceanco organises around projects, not functions: the senior operational layer is a bench of project directors rather than a production or technical director, which fits a yard that builds a few very large one-off yachts at a time. Commercial seats are filled from inside (a project manager and a designer became sales directors), and the CEO himself came up through marketing and sales. Finance is doubled (a Monaco CFO beside the yard's finance director), a trace of the Omani ownership that ended in Aug 2025.
Top seat
Senior layer · 16
General management 2
Sales and marketing 4
Engineering and design 1
Projects, service and after-sales 3
Purchasing and supply chain 1
Finance, legal and IT 4
People 1
Managers · 4
Sales and marketing 1
Engineering and design 1
Purchasing and supply chain 1
People 1
Seats and dates are as the people describe them on LinkedIn; a person who moved in the last months can still show the old seat. Tap a person for the profile and the reading.
Candidates at Oceanco6 in the pools; the shortlisted first, then by tier and score
* Technical and pricing20%Sen. Project Manager @ Oceanco (Sep 2007 – Present); Project Manager @ Feadship, kon de Vries (Aug 1998 – Aug 2007)
* Business building20%No evidence in the profile.
Leadership maturity10%28 years at two of the top full-custom yards
Reading. Sales Director since 2020 after sales manager from 2015 and senior project manager from 2007; Feadship (De Vries) project manager 1998-2007. Seventeen years of project management under the sales seat: the hybrid the brief asks for, at director level, selling 80 m plus full-custom yachts.
Career
Sales Director · Oceanco Jan 2020 – Present
Sales Manager · Oceanco Apr 2015 – Present
Sen. Project Manager · Oceanco Sep 2007 – Present
Project Manager · Feadship, kon de Vries Aug 1998 – Aug 2007
* Technical and pricing20%Sixteen years as CEO of a 100 m plus custom yard: pricing and delivery sat with him
* Business building20%Deputy Managing Director @ Oceanco (2009 – Apr 2010), then CEO
Leadership maturity10%One company, three seats, 22 years
Reading. CEO since Apr 2010, deputy managing director 2009, General Manager Marketing & Sales 2004-2009. Sixteen years running the 80-140 m full-custom yard, into the top seat from the commercial side. Ownership changed in Aug 2025 (Gabe Newell became shareholder; the press confirms him as CEO in Jul 2026), which is the moment a long-serving CEO becomes reachable. No link to the yard's page on the profile.
Career
CEO · Oceanco Apr 2010 – Present
Deputy Managing Director · Oceanco 2009 – Apr 2010
General Manager Marketing & Sales · Oceanco 2004 – 2009
* Technical and pricing20%Sales Engineer @ Damen Yachting (Oct 2006 – Dec 2009); Bachelor of Maritime Engineering
* Business building20%Uitvoerend directeur @ Oceanco (Jul 2024 – Present)
Leadership maturity10%No evidence in the profile.
Reading. Executive director ('uitvoerend directeur') since Jul 2024, headline Director Life Cycle Support. Commercial Director of Den Breejen Shipyard 2020-2024, Heesen sales and marketing manager 2016-2020, Damen Yachting sales manager and sales engineer 2006-2016, Wärtsilä sales support engineer; maritime engineering degree. Engineer to seller to commercial director, now running an after-sales line.
Career
Uitvoerend directeur · Oceanco Jul 2024 – Present
Eigenaar · YachtSuit Jan 2020 – Present
Commercial Director · Den Breejen Shipyard Jul 2020 – Jun 2024
Sales Manager · Damen Yachting Dec 2009 – Apr 2016
Sales Engineer · Damen Yachting Oct 2006 – Dec 2009
Sales Support Engineer · Wärtsilä Sep 2004 – Sep 2006
Education
University of Haarlem Bachelor of Maritime Engineering · Scheepsbouwkunde / Maritieme techniek (Naval architecture / Maritime engineering); Koning Willem I College English Degree; Koning Willem I College Mathematic Degree
* Commercial leadership30%Tender Manager Cruise and RoPax @ Damen Shipyards Group (Aug 2019 – Dec 2020)
* Yacht network20%Managing senior customer relationships and a broad international stakeholder and supply-chain
* Technical and pricing20%Project Director @ Oceanco (May 2024 – Present): accountability for project performance, budget, schedule, quality and delivery
* Business building20%as part of the Directors team, work on company generic topics that shape the future
Leadership maturity10%No evidence in the profile.
Reading. Project director since May 2024 with end-to-end delivery of one multi-year custom build and a seat on the directors team; Damen tender manager and newbuild project manager before; Delft and NTNU marine design.
Career
Project Director · Oceanco May 2024 – Present
Sr. Project Manager · Oceanco Dec 2020 – May 2024
Tender Manager Cruise and RoPax · Damen Shipyards Group Aug 2019 – Dec 2020
Project Manager Newbuild Projects · Damen Shipyards Group May 2015 – Sep 2019
Research & Development Engineer · Damen Shipyards Group Mar 2011 – May 2015
Naval Architect · SARC BV Mar 2010 – Feb 2011
Technical Superintendent · Van Oord Aug 2009 – Nov 2009
TU Delft Master of Science (MSc) · Marine Design - Ship Design (Cum Laude); Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Master of Science (MSc) · Marin Teknikk; TU Delft Bachelor of Science (BSc) · Marine Design
* Commercial leadership30%No evidence in the profile.
* Yacht network20%No evidence in the profile.
* Technical and pricing20%Project Director @ Oceanco (Oct 2017 – Present); Production Engineer (2011)
* Business building20%Project Coordinator (2012) to Project Director (2017) on 100 m plus builds
Leadership maturity10%No evidence in the profile.
Reading. Project director since Oct 2017, grown inside Oceanco from production engineer (2011); Delft marine technology and RSM business master.
Career
Project Director · Oceanco Oct 2017 – Present
Project Manager · Oceanco Jan 2015 – Oct 2017
Project Coordinator · Oceanco Aug 2012 – Jan 2015
Production Engineer · Oceanco Aug 2011 – Jul 2012
Master thesis Ship-production · Oceanco Sep 2010 – Jun 2011
Bachelor thesis Mechanical Engineering · Thermphos Jan 2007 – Jun 2007
Engineering Intern · Damen Yachting Jan 2006 – Jun 2006
Education
RSM Erasmus University Master of Science in Business Administration; TU Delft Master of Science in Marine Technology; HZ University of Applied Sciences Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering
* Commercial leadership30%Sales Director @ Oceanco (Dec 2025 – Present)
* Yacht network20%No evidence in the profile.
* Technical and pricing20%Innovation Designer @ Oceanco (Nov 2017 – May 2021)
* Business building20%No evidence in the profile.
Leadership maturity10%No evidence in the profile.
Reading. Sales Director since Dec 2025 after sales manager (2024), fleet support project manager and innovation designer at Oceanco; Delft industrial design, graduated 2015. The junior version of the design-to-sales hybrid; ten years of career.
Career
Sales Director · Oceanco Dec 2025 – Present
Sales Manager · Oceanco Jan 2024 – Jan 2026
Project Manager Fleet Support · Oceanco May 2021 – Mar 2024
Innovation Designer · Oceanco Nov 2017 – May 2021
Industrial Designer · Oceanco Nov 2016 – Nov 2017
Product Design Engineer · Weltevree® May 2015 – Nov 2016
Graduate Student · Weltevree® Oct 2014 – Apr 2015
Product Designer · DelightFULL Feb 2014 – Jul 2014
Founded: 1987, by South African private investors. source
Headquarters and main yard: Alblasserdam, Netherlands (about 20 km from Rotterdam). Sales, design and marketing office in Monaco. source
Other yards: Zwijndrecht (former Heerema yard, bought 2019; used for hulls, new builds, refit and life-extension). In 2025-09 Oceanco bought a second complex there of about 13,400 m2 (Noordweg 15A, ex De Groot Staalconstructies). source
Ownership: **changed in 2025-08**. Gabe Newell (founder of Valve, USA) is the new shareholder; the Barwani family (Mohammed Al Barwani, owner since 2010-03) left after about 15 years and keeps its yacht interest through Turquoise Yachts (Türkiye). Stake not disclosed. source 1source 2
Earlier owners: Theodore Angelopoulos (from 2002), Al Barwani (2010–2025). source
Sister companies (Oceanco Group, as of 2026-07-08): Mercury Yacht Construction (hulls, founded 2020, fully owned), Aluship (superstructures), Lateral (naval architects, set up 2018 with BMT Nigel Gee), Alewijnse (electrical systems integrator, joined 2025-08), Winel (doors and hatches, Assen, joined 2026-07). source 1source 2source 3
Size
Employees: no dated company statement found. An undated fan site (superyachtfan.com) says more than 400; not verified. source
Revenue: not found (private company).
Boat International Global Order Book rank: not found. The 2026 edition summary (published 2025-12-18) does not name Oceanco. source
Product
Size range: 80 m and up. Recent deliveries 109–127 m; the largest order is the 130 m Y727. source 1source 2
Hull materials: hulls are built by group company Mercury in Zwijndrecht and superstructures by Aluship (aluminium superstructure specialist). source 1source 2
Model.
Full-custom motor and sailing yachts (core business; for example Koru, Leviathan).
Simply Custom: an 80 m, 2,500–2,700 GT line on one proven platform by Lateral, with many design options; launched at FLIBS 2023-10. First hull is Y729 (80 m, delivery 2027). source 1source 2
Life Cycle Support: refit and rebuild (for example Draak, 93 m, 2026). source
Notable deliveries 2023 to 2026.
Koru (Y721), 127 m sailing schooner, 2023-04. source
