Den Breejen Shipyard

What Den Breejen Shipyard does

Den Breejen Shipyard is a family-owned Dutch shipbuilder founded in 1947 in Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Netherlands, operating on the Merwede River with direct deep-water access. The company designs, engineers, and constructs fully custom-built vessels across four product lines: luxury river cruise ships (its primary specialization since 2000), traditional and free-sailing ferries, tankers and dry cargo vessels, and multiworker offshore support vessels. It also operates two screw docks (400 and 800 tons) plus completion quays for vessels up to 150m, supporting a full repair, refit, and re-motorization service line for inland and regional European customers.

The technical platform centers on modern CAD/CAM design, computer-controlled plasma cutting for plates up to 24 x 4m, and axis lathe machining (8m and 12m) for in-house propeller shaft manufacture and installation — a Benelux specialization. The yard is ISO 9001:2015 and VCA 2017/6.0 certified, with all design work executed in consultation with classification societies. Recent deliveries include the Amadeus Amara cruise vessel (2025), four Mannheim/Wörth tankers (2025), the Maglev XXL tanker (2024), and Saint-Tropez (2024), alongside a contract for the Transcend Cruises hydrogen-powered articulated tug-and-barge vessel (2024) and VistaQueen (2025).

The business model is direct-to-customer project sales: each newbuild is a one-time custom contract with agreed budget and timeline, supplemented by recurring repair and refit professional services, engineering services, and machining work for third parties. Customers include international river cruise operators (Avalon Waterways, Scenic Tours, Emerald Waterways, Travelmarvel, Thurgau, Dunav Tours, SCI Kreuzfahrten, Amadeus, 1AVista), regional ferry operators and Dutch government ferry foundations (Maasveren, Wijkseveer, Eck & Wiel), and inland tanker/cargo operators (Stolt, Iduna, VOF Solution, VOF Krammer). The yard employs 11-50 people, is actively hiring project engineers and repair foremen, and markets primarily through its website and trade channels.

Name

Den Breejen Shipyard

Legal name

Den Breejen Shipyard

Website

https://breejen-shipyard.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Den Breejen Shipyard is a family-owned Dutch shipyard (founded 1947) that custom-builds, refits, and repairs river cruise ships, ferries, tankers, dry cargo vessels, and offshore multiworkers for European operators, with two dry docks and in-house CAD/CAM, plasma cutting, and propeller shaft machining capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Shipbuilding

NAICS

Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Ship and Boat Building (3366)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Landing Craft & Amphibious Workboats (LCM/LCT-style, Beaching Craft) (IMAJADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialized Cargo Vessels (Cement/Asphalt/Woodchip/Live-Animal) Shipbuilding (IMAJAAAL), Interior, HVAC & Accommodation Refurbishment (IMAJAFAI), Piping, HVAC & Auxiliary Systems Repair (TLAKAKAH)

Keywords

• Shipbuilding services
• Ship repair
• River cruise vessels
• Maritime engineering
• Vessel refit

Headquarters

HQ city

Hardinxveld

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. New Ship Construction: Design, develop and build fully custom-built vessels including passenger vessels, ferries, tankers, dry cargo vessels and multiworkers. Projects are one-time contracts delivered within agreed budget and timeline.
2. Ship Repair Services: Repair services including propeller changing, classification works, propeller shaft and steering repair, fitting nozzles, and damage repair using two screw docks (400 and 800 tons) and repair quays.
3. Ship Refit: Renovation and modification services for existing ships including rebuilding, restyling, re-motorization, lengthening and widening of vessels.
4. Engineering Services: Engineering services using modern CAD/CAM applications for design of complete ship constructions, efficient solutions for propulsion and technical installations in consultation with classification societies.
5. Machining Services: CNC plasma cutting for plate marking and cutting, axis lathe machining services for propeller shafts, stern frames and other ship components.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Den Breejen Shipyard designs, engineers, and builds custom new vessels (passenger ships, ferries, tankers, dry cargo vessels, and multiworkers/offshore support vessels) and provides ship repair, refit, maintenance, engineering, and industrial services (CNC cutting and lathe machining). It serves commercial shipping operators and government clients across Europe with fully integrated in-house design-to-delivery capabilities.

Product overview

Den Breejen Shipyard is a family-owned Dutch shipyard (founded 1947) offering custom-built vessel construction across four product lines: Passenger Vessels (luxury river cruise ships), Ferries (cable and free-sailing), Tankers and Dry Cargo Vessels, and Multiworkers (offshore support vessels). The company also provides comprehensive services including Repair (with 400 and 800-ton docks), Refit, Engineering (CAD/CAM design), Cutting (plasma cutting up to 24x4m plates), and Machining (propeller shaft installation up to 12m). All vessels are fully custom-built to client specifications with a focus on quality, sustainability, and delivery within agreed timeframes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Passenger Vessels (River Cruise Ships)

Quantifiable outcome

• Completion quays up to 150m length, overhead cranes total 80 tons capacity
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• De Hoop Shipyard: Dutch family-owned yard building custom inland vessels including tankers, dry cargo and passenger ships; comparable in custom inland newbuild focus and family-ownership structure.
• Holland Shipyards Group: Dutch builder of inland vessels including ferries, patrol boats and workboats; comparable in vessel types, Dutch/European customer base and custom build model.
• Concordia Damen: Dutch inland and specialized vessel builder with overlapping customer base of European barge, ferry and workboat operators; directly comparable in custom inland newbuild and repair/refit services.
• SET Schiffbau- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Tangermünde: German inland shipbuilder constructing river cruise ships, ferries and special vessels; comparable in vessel type, Central European customer base and project-based custom builds.
• Royal Bodewes: Dutch shipyard in Hoogezand building inland cargo vessels, tankers and small specialized ships; comparable in target market (Northern European inland operators) and custom newbuild approach.
• Vahali Shipyard: Slovenian builder specializing in luxury river cruise vessels for European waterways; directly comparable in river cruise newbuild, similar vessel size and customer segment.

Broad incumbents

• Damen Shipyards: Larger Dutch shipbuilding group with a broad portfolio including inland/workboats and repair yards across Europe; competes for similar inland customers but at much greater scale and breadth.
• Neptun Werft: German shipyard owned by Meyer group that builds river cruise vessels for Viking and others; comparable in passenger river cruise newbuild but with broader corporate backing.
• Meyer Werft: Large German builder of ocean cruise ships; not a direct competitor on river vessels but commands adjacent European cruise shipbuilding capacity and customers that overlap with river cruise operators.

Others

• Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group: Owner/operator of chemical tankers (including Stolt IJssel/Danau built by Den Breejen); comparable only as a customer/ecosystem participant in the inland tanker segment, not a competitor.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/den-breejen-shipyard
• Instagraminstagram.com/shipyarddenbreejen

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Den Breejen Shipyard