And yachts again and again

Shipyards fear slumps, one even bankruptcy: the Dutch Heesen Yachts shipyard

Heesen Yachts is facing serious problems if its Russian owner Vagit Alekperov ends up on the EU sanctions list. So far, Alekperov has been placed on the British list, which is already causing problems with Heesen's British suppliers. Heesen Yachts stated that Alekperov is one of its Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO's) and emphasises that it is a Dutch company with a board of directors and an independent supervisory board that appoints the board members, and that the company is financially independent and in good shape with a strong order book. According to the Dutch yacht builder, the UBO's do not actively or directly interfere in the management of the company. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two members of Heesen Yachts' supervisory board, Pavel Novoselov and Pavel Sukhoruchkin, resigned from their positions "to emphasise the independence and Dutch character of the shipyard", according to Heesen.

The company tried to transfer Alekperov's shares to a foundation, but the notary consulted did not want to notarise this. She said the transfer could be interpreted as a way of circumventing possible EU sanctions and would therefore not be able to go through with it. Heesen hoped that the notary would consider the risk of bankruptcy and the loss of 1000 jobs and even took her to court to change her decision. However, the judge sided with the notary. Although the judge said that the shipyard was right to be concerned about its future, the interests of Heesen and its employees were not relevant. The judge only examined whether the notary was right to refuse.

Alekperov has been placed on the British and Australian sanctions list, and Heesen is already feeling the effects. The British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, for example, is no longer supplying its products to Heesen.

Picture: Heesen Yachts shipyard in Oss, Netherlands (von Heesen).

Source: swzmaritime / Buitendijk,