On July 2, a fire broke out at Lürssen shipyard in Lenzburg, Germany. The fire started at around 9:20 a.m. local time and lasted for about 20 hours before being extinguished, with cleanup efforts still underway.
The local fire department said the fire originated in a shipbuilding workshop and quickly spread to other areas of the shipyard. Witnesses reported several explosions and heavy smoke. Local news outlets reported that the roof and exterior walls of the shipyard’s workshop had partially collapsed, and that a superyacht under construction, reportedly named Honolulu, had burned down, with sources claiming that the fire originated from the superyacht under construction. The 75-metre-long superyacht, valued at $250 million, was allegedly being built by the Lürssen shipyard for a Saudi Arabian tycoon.
About 100 employees were working at the shipyard when the fire broke out and were then quickly evacuated, with only one person suffering slight injuries. The local fire department deployed a total of 400 firefighters and two rescue helicopters to extinguish the blaze.
On July 3, in response to the fire incident, Lürssen released a statement saying, “The fire that broke out in the shipbuilding workshop at the Lürssen-Kröger shipyard on Tuesday was extinguished in the early hours of the morning. We will now gradually start the cleanup work in coordination with the relevant authorities. Operations at the shipyard are suspended and will gradually reopen in designated areas from July 4, depending on the situation. We will keep our employees informed of the latest developments.”
As of today, the cause of the fire has not been confirmed.
Headquartered in Bremen, Germany, with five shipyards in Bremen, Lenzburg and Hamburg, Lürssen is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bespoke luxury superyachts, having built some of the world’s “best” luxury yachts since its founding in 1875, and has been in business for nearly 150 years.