Heesen launches 50m steel class Project Maia, christened M/Y Omaha

YM 18350 Project Maia underwent a technical launch and was christened Omaha on April 20 at the Heesen shipyard in Oss, The Netherlands. The project was sold in December by Ocean Independence broker Chris Collins, in collaboration with Thom Conboy of Heesen USA.

The 164-foot (50m) steel model is a new design pitched just below the 500GT threshold. This replaces the award-winning 47m steel class series, of which 13 sister ships have been built and launched since 2001.

Heesen’s in-house team designed Omaha with a traditional full-displacement steel hull and two MTU 8V4000 M63 engines. She is expected to reach a top speed of 15 knots, with a cruising range of 3,800 nautical miles at 12 knots. These figures will be confirmed during sea trials that will take place on the North Sea in the next few weeks.

Omaha will be delivered to her owners at the end of June. A sister ship is being built under the project name Triton (YN 18850) and will be available for delivery in 2020.