Our story

Before it officially became a city in 1315, Vlissingen was a thriving fishing port on the North Sea. From the 14th Century it became increasingly important as a centre for building warships for the Dutch Admiralty and trading vessels for the Dutch West India Company. Around 1688, the shipyard complex was expanded. In this illustration you can see the shipbuilding activities on the site of the Damen Yachting head office today.

Amels began in 1918 as a boat building business in the north of the Netherlands. In this small shipyard in the centre of Makkum, we delivered around 100 vessels of up to 20 metres from wooden fishing boats to steel tugboats.

With a view to building bigger, Amels moved the yard to what would become its home until 2005. We began working on larger commercial ships and coasters. In the mid-late 1970s, we went on to diversify our shipbuilding skills and apply them to a more specialized market sector in high-value luxury yachts – starting with KATALINA.

In 1991 the Damen family acquired Amels. The name Amels was retained, preserving the brand which was, by then, synonymous with luxury yacht building and is now also renowned for its high value, quality and finish. The shipyard in Makkum remained operational for the following 14 years before we established a new home at the larger facilities in Vlissingen.

Many of us at Damen Yachting come from a long line of shipbuilders in the south of the Netherlands – for centuries the heart of Dutch shipbuilding. Our Vlissingen City yard is the former Royal Schelde yard, acquired by Damen in 2000. We are proud to continue the tradition of local shipbuilding expertise. We like to show first-time visitors our historic Royal Schelde headquarters at the yard. The history of Dutch shipbuilding is embodied in the great halls of this magnificent building.

Since acquiring Amels in 1991, the Damen family has continued to invest in its yacht building business, which is today a cornerstone of its iconic shipbuilding group.

Taking over his father’s shipyard in 1969 with six employees, Kommer Damen has grown the business into Damen Shipyards Group, the world’s leading specialist shipbuilder with 12,000 employees and 35 shipyards around the globe. Damen builds everything from navy ships to tug boats. To this day, Damen remains a family-owned business.

Rose Damen, a third generation family shareholder, is Managing Director of Damen Yachting.