Zwartsluis builder of full-custom aluminium sailing yachts of 40 to 75 m, three big projects at a time, with a new managing director from Royal Van Lent.
1990
Founded
Private, family-owned; CEO Louis Hamming
Owner
not published
Revenue
about 110
People
40 to 75 m sailing
Range
3 large projects, to 2029
In build
What happened, 2023 to 2026
Dec 2023Build59 m Maximus delivered
Apr 2025Deal44 m W-Magic delivered; 63 m Project Dreamer signed for 2028
May 2025Build80 m shed in use; 68 m Project 3095 hull turned
Feb 2026Deal53 m Project 3097 signed for 2029
Jul 2026Build68.9 m Zero launched, billed fossil-fuel-free
Aug 2026Top seatMaarten van Marle, from Royal Van Lent engineering, managing director
What it adds up to. Full to 2029 on a new shed; in August 2026 the owner installed an engineer from Royal Van Lent as managing director.
Who runs it
Ownersince 1991
Managing Director / CEOsince 2026
Manager sales and marketingsince 2020
Manager Engineeringsince 2023
Financial director (part-time)since 2018
HR manager (part-time)since 2026
Organisation. Owner above an engineer managing director
What it shows for a new yard. Owner above an engineer managing director; commercial is two people.
Former leaders now elsewhere3 people who held a top or senior seat here
now General Manager New Build at Royal Huisman
now Operational Director at Balk Shipyard
now COO at Steeler Yachts
The top team as read on LinkedIn68 people read as staff, October 2026
Owner over a new managing director (an engineer from Royal Van Lent), a part-time financial director, a manager of engineering (from Oceanco and Mercury), a sales and marketing manager with one sales engineer, HR, project managers and production leaders; many engineers hired from Royal Huisman in 2025-2026.
Vitters, a sailing-yacht builder of about 80, has just installed a managing director from the engineering side under a long-time owner, while its engineering bench fills from Royal Huisman across the IJssel. Commercial is two people. The pattern is the owner-plus-engineer-MD model, not a commercial GM.
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 Vitters Shipyard2 in the pools; the shortlisted first, then by tier and score
Leendert Kleijwegt
Manager Engineering at Vitters Shipyard · Joure, Netherlands
* Commercial leadership30%No evidence in the profile.
* Yacht network20%No evidence in the profile.
* Technical and pricing20%Manager Engineering / Business Improvement @ Royal Van Lent Shipyard (2023-2026); Delft Naval Architecture
* Business building20%Managing Director / CEO @ Vitters Shipyard (Aug 2026 – Present)
Leadership maturity10%No evidence in the profile.
Reading. Managing director since Aug 2026; Royal Van Lent manager engineering and business improvement 2023-2026, interim manager, director of a naval consultancy; Delft naval architect. An engineer-improver given a small yard to run.
Career
Managing Director / CEO · Vitters Shipyard Aug 2026 – Present
Manager Engineering / Business Improvement · Royal Van Lent Shipyard Jun 2023 – Jul 2026
Business Improvement Manager · Royal Van Lent Shipyard Apr 2022 – May 2023
Project Manager · GGD Haaglanden Nov 2020 – Apr 2022
Interim Manager · Self-employed Oct 2015 – Apr 2022
Interim Manager · Oct 2015 – Apr 2022
Director · NAVARA Sep 2019 – Apr 2020
COO · Sensara May 2016 – Jun 2019
and 7 earlier roles
Education
Delft University of Technology Master’s Degree · Naval Archtiecture and Marine Engineering; Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management MBA
Languages
Dutch · Native or bilingual proficiency, English · Full professional proficiency, French · Elementary proficiency, German · Elementary proficiency
Founded: 1990, by Jan Vitters, first to build hulls for mega yachts; Louis Hamming joined soon after and the yard turned to sailing yachts (first delivery Aphrodite I, 1993). source
Headquarters and main yard: Zwartsluis, the Netherlands. New shed (80 m x 30 m x 16 m) built 2024–2025 for larger projects. source
Other locations: Amsterdam site used for launching (W-Magic launched there 2025-01); Harlingen used for launch of Zero (2026-07). source 1source 2
Ownership: private; described as "family-owned" (2024-10). Names of shareholders and stakes not public. source
Sister brands and holdings: Green Marine (UK composite builder, acquired 2010); Claasen Shipyards (Zaandam), taken over in 2016 by Vitters together with Claasen management, Vitters as majority holder; both brands kept. Current status of both in 2023–2026: not found. source 1source 2
Size
Employees: about 110 people (Boat International sponsored profile, 2026-03-31). source
Fleet: 35 yachts on the water and 3 large projects in build, as of 2026-03-31.
Capacity statement: three 500 GT projects at once (about 1,500 GT); Bas Peute says going above 2,000 GT in total is not feasible for a yard of this size (2026-03-31).
Revenue: not found.
Global Order Book position: not found.
Product
Size range: 40 m to 75 m sailing superyachts, 300 GT to under 1,000 GT (most new builds just under 500 GT). source
Hull materials: mainly aluminium (Maximus, Magic, Project 3095, Project Dreamer); steel on earlier yachts (Aquijo, 86 m, built with Oceanco, 2016). source 1source 2
Build type: full custom only; no series or semi-custom line found.
Notable deliveries and launches 2023–2026.
Maximus (Project 3090), 59.3 m sailing yacht, Germán Frers design, delivered 2023-12. source
