First Damen Yachting YS 53 sold to Anthony Hsieh

alt="First Damen Yachting YS 53 sold to Anthony Hsieh"/>

YS 5301 will be delivered to Anthony Hsieh in 2023

Damen Yachting has sold the first unit of its YS 53 series to Anthony Hsieh, who will use it for sport fishing primarily in the Indian and Pacific oceans as part of his Bad Company fleet. The 175-footer from the Dutch builder’s Yacht Support range will be delivered in 2023.

YS 5301 will have a top speed of 19 knots and be fully IMO Tier III compliant, reducing harmful emissions by 70 per cent for full range operations.

The yacht will be the hub of Hsieh’s extensive fishing programme that will incorporate fishing in relatively unchartered waters and support marine conservation projects. It will be equipped with a 15-tonne deck crane, a 43ft Release Game boat and a 32ft Blackfin that was Hsieh’s first game fishing boat purchase more than 30 years ago and has recently been repurchased and refurbished.

“No one has ever done what we’re planning to do with the 5301 and I think this will set a whole new tier of adventure for future sportsmen to explore,” said Hsieh, founder of US-based mortgage lender loanDepot.

My hope is that this ambitious programme will inspire a whole new generation of sportsmen to create their own programmes. It will be good for the sport, yachting and the fishing industries.”

Jan van Hogerwou, Damen Yachting’s Commercial Executive, worked closely with Neil Emmott from Superyacht Sales and Charter in Fort Lauderdale on behalf of Hsieh throughout the sale of YS 5301.

“This is one of the most exciting projects we have worked on. Not only is this the first of our new YS 53 range but this is also the first Yacht Support we have built that will be used exclusively as part of a sport fishing fleet and programme,” Van Hogerwou said.

“Hsieh’s unique vision and the mission he has planned for this all-new Yacht Support is very inspiring and we are looking forward to the next 12 months and getting her ready to head out with the rest of his fleet.”

The programme’s Atlantic operations are covered by the 46m YS 4508 Yacht Support, Bad Company Support. Featuring a 33ft Game boat on board, the vessel was original built and delivered by Damen Yachting in 2019 and was sold and joined the Bad Company fleet in 2021.

Introduced to the market in February, the YS 53 range features exterior and interior design, and naval architecture by Damen Yachting, and marks a shift in the builder’s Yacht Support approach. Highly flexible and customisable, the new design represents the next generation of Yacht Support vessels designed from scratch specifically for the yachting market and encompassing experience from almost 20 Yacht Support vessels built and sold over the last decade.