»You are only as good as your last yacht«

Peter Lürßen says he wanted to work at the shipyard since his childhood

Mr. Lürßen, do you believe Germany has a secret formula for building more ef[ds_preview]ficiently than other nations and winning so many large yacht contracts? The same obviously also applies to high-end cars …

Peter Lürßen: When it comes to engineering, Germany has an excellent reputation, based on a very good education system. Building yachts as well as other first-class products in an efficient manner requires particularly in-depth knowledge, much experience and highly qualified employees. These essential requirements guarantee our success in shipbuilding since 1875. Many of our employees have been working for us for a lifetime and there is a large number among them where also the previous generations have worked for our shipyard. I am very proud of this tradition as it ensures that knowledge and experience does not get lost.

You said once you try to make each new Lürssen yacht better than the last. What might be a typical recent example of that?

Lürßen: »You are only as good as your last yacht« is a truthful statement and as such we are constantly on our toes to ensure that we stay at the forefront of development and that we keep improving our standards.

With »Azzam« you have just built the largest superyacht of all times. Will this trend of ever larger vessels persist or have we reached maximum measurements with 180m length? Where are the physical and financial limits?

Lürßen: »Azzam« was a very exceptional project which does not serve as proof of a certain trend within our branch of trade. »Azzam« will probably be the largest yacht for the next few years.

Where do you see the largest buyer markets in the future?

Lürßen: That is difficult to say. We hope that Asia, especially India, and maybe Brazil will become future markets for large yachts but this may take a while and one has to be patient.

Regarding the growing yacht measurements, do you plan to enlarge your facilities in Vegesack, Lemwerder, Aumund, Schacht-Audorf (Kröger Werft), and Wil­helmsha­ven (Neue Jadewerft)?

Lürßen: We can handle yachts up to 220 m, so there is no reason for us to enlarge our facilities further. Nonetheless, we are steadily updating our facilities and we have added some more floating docks in the past in order to enlarge the capacities so that we can make sure that our »children« can come back home for repair or refit works. Together with our recently acquired locations the shipyard is well placed to handle the challenges of the future.

Family businesses are notoriously challenging to pass on and manage from generation to generation. Have you ever felt like selling out your share and sailing away?

Lürßen: Ever since my childhood I knew I wanted to work in the shipyard. I spent my free time at the yard and this has not changed until today. I am doing exactly what I have always wanted to do! Lürssen is and will remain a family business.

Interview: Nikos Späth and Nick Jeffery