Damen lays keel for 77-metre SeaXplorer Expedition Yacht

　　Last week, Dutch yacht builders Damen marked a milestone in the construction of the SeaXplorer 77, an expedition superyacht, at a keel laying ceremony at its Galati shipyard facility. The Damen SeaXplorer 77 project is a custom version of the SeaXplorer 75 range.

　　Following the hull building phase, the SeaXplorer 77 will arrive at Damen’s Vlissingen East yard in the Netherlands for completion. She is currently on schedule for delivery in the last quarter of 2020.

　　The yacht accommodates 12 guests in a six-stateroom layout with full custom interiors, featuring the finest luxury quality and finishing’s created by the owner’s choice of designer. The 25 crew, pilots and expedition staff operate the submersible, tenders, toys and two aircraft with a fully certified helideck and helicopter hangar.

　　“The SeaXplorer 77 is the larger of two projects we are currently constructing from our SeaXplorer range,” comments Product Director Mark Vermeulen. “The SeaXplorer 77 shares the range’s core attributes; compliance with the IMO Polar Code, the long periods of autonomy at sea, and the crossover of superyacht luxury with professional capability. But the design incorporates many specific client requirements such as his passion for heliskiing.”

　　The construction of SeaXplorer 77 has showcased Damen’s prowess within the yacht building industry with the extent of its capabilities on this SeaXplorer 77 project. Overall management from Damen’s yachting headquarters in Vlissingen has been in seamless cooperation with superyacht builder AMELS, part of Damen since 1991. SeaXplorer design and engineering was undertaken at Damen Shipyards in Gorinchem, the Netherlands.

　　Her hull was built at Damen Shipyards in Galati, the largest of Damen’s 33 shipyards around the world. The yard’s almost 4,000 employees have worked on many of Damen’s most important projects to date including the 160-metre IMO Polar Code category-compliant Australian Antarctic Division research ship NUYINA.

　　Final construction and outfitting will take place at Damen’s Vlissingen East yard, located just a few kilometres from the Vlissingen City yard where AMELS operates and numerous superyachts projects of over 90 metres have already been completed.