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Lürssen Yachts celebrates 150 years of yachting innovation
By Shivani Dubey | 15 September 2025 | Cars & Yachts
Lürssen Yachts, which was founded in 1875, celebrated its 150-year anniversary this summer, paving the way for over a century of yachting innovation
When Friedrich Lürssen founded Lürssen Yachts at just 24 years of age in 1875, he quickly cemented his reputation for building exquisitely tuned rowboats. Now, 150 years later, the family-run business, grown from modest beginnings through just four generations into a premier shipbuilder, is delivering its next step towards a visionary future of yachting.
Coinciding with its milestone year, Lürssen is preparing to deliver its next step towards an ultimately carbon-neutral future for yachting: the 114-metre COSMOS.
“We have made tremendous progress towards achieving an important goal of mine,” says Peter Lürssen. “It was my great-grandfather who built the first motorboat in 1886, paving the way for yachting as we know it today. My dream is to ultimately build the first yacht without a combustion engine, marking the beginning of a new era for the industry.”
As part of Lürssen Yachts’ drive towards more responsible and more sustainable solutions, Lürssen patented an innovative exhaust after-treatment system that reduces NOx emissions without affecting space, weight, noise, or vibration. This has been standard on every Lürssen yacht since 2016.
Today, as the company looks to the future, it has pledged to continue its support for the Blue Marine Foundation, through which the company has supported 30 global projects, securing commitments to protect over 4.4 million square kilometres of ocean.
Meanwhile, through its newly founded Lürssen Foundation, it will support the training and development of select engineering scholars who demonstrate exceptional talent and invest in startups and organisations making a positive impact on the industry and wider communities.
“It is with great pride that I reflect on how Lürssen has evolved into the company it is today,” says Peter. “However, this journey has not been without its challenges. We have had one hundred and fifty years marked by trials, challenges and jubilations. There have been storms and successes. However, these success stories do not belong solely to Lürssen as a company. They belong to their people.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all our employees – past and present – without whom we would not be here, celebrating 150 years,” he added.