A former commercial shipyard on the Baltic Sea has reopened as a superyacht builder and refit facility. Astra Nord already has one refit client, plus a design proposal it created with a well-known naval-architecture studio. What’s more, it intends to make after-sales service a key component of its focus.
Astra Nord is in the northern German city of Straslund, within a large maritime industrial and commercial park. It occupies about 1.04 million square feet (97,000 square meters) of covered construction space, with all disciplines in house. This includes metal cutting for the hulls, something some shipyards subcontract. Its main shed measures 984 x 361 x 246 feet (300 x 110 x 75 meters), meaning it can accommodate some of the biggest projects around. New-build megayachts of 213 feet (65 meters) and larger are its target, as are same-size refits.
Theodoros Fotiadis, the head of T. Fotiadis Design in Germany, is behind Astra Nord. His intention is to cater to some of the same clientele previously attracted to the now-defunct Nobiskrug in nearby Rendsburg. Plagued by financial difficulties over several years, that yard filed for bankruptcy in late 2024. (Earlier this year, Lürssen submitted a takeover offer for Nobiskrug.) However, Fotiadis says, Astra Nord has the capacity to build up to 968 feet (295 meters), much larger than Nobiskrug could, due to its former shipbuilding purpose.
On the refit side, Astra Nord’s first client is the owner of the 154-foot (47-meter) Ocean Dreamwalker, a Sanlorenzo 500EXP. The yacht arrived last week, in fact. According to Fotiadis, an unnamed yacht upwards of 230 feet (70 meters) is coming next.
In the meantime, the yard is finalizing the design of several new-build projects, some of which will start construction on spec. One design already available for client consideration is Project Neon (above), a 256-footer (78-meter) from Lateral Naval Architects. She leverages the studio’s Free From Bulkheads platform. Briefly, nearly 85 percent of the yacht’s length is free of bulkheads, opening up quite literally more room. With a volume of about 2,200 gross tons, Project Neon relies on diesel-electric propulsion and should achieve 6,200 nautical miles at 11½ knots. Delivery can occur within 42 months after contract.
Whatever design a new-build customer ultimately chooses, Astra Nord has a dedicated after-sales team. With technicians and general support representatives around the world, the team offers assistance for routine maintenance to in-depth refits.
Astra Nord astranord.com