Oceanco was founded in 1987 in Alblasserdam, a small town in the Dutch province of South Holland where the Noord and Lek rivers meet, a location chosen because the Netherlands has been building ships for five hundred years and the infrastructure – the skilled workforce, the supplier networks, the institutional knowledge – exists nowhere else in quite the same concentration.
The shipyard's ambition from the beginning was to build the largest and most complex superyachts in the world, not by competing on price but by competing on capability – taking on projects that other yards could not execute, solving engineering problems that other yards would not attempt, and delivering vessels that justified their cost through excellence rather than mere adequacy.
Marcel Onkenhout, CEO of Oceanco
The Y702 Project
ALFA NERO was delivered in 2007 as project Y702, the second yacht in the Y Generation programme that Theodore Angelopoulos launched after acquiring Oceanco in 2002. She was conceived not as an evolution of existing conventions but as a departure from them – the brief was clear: create a vessel that would win awards, influence the industry, and remain relevant for decades.
The result exceeded expectations. ALFA NERO collected seven major awards in a single year, a sweep that validated the Y Generation approach and established Oceanco as the builder of choice for owners seeking the extraordinary.
ALFA NERO bow profile | Source: Oceanco
Engineering That Enables Design
Oceanco's contribution to ALFA NERO was not merely construction but enablement – taking the ambitious designs of Nuvolari Lenard and Alberto Pinto and solving the engineering problems that made them possible. The infinity pool required hydraulic systems that could raise and lower a swimming pool full of water while maintaining structural integrity in sea conditions. The beach club required fold-down platforms that could withstand repeated cycling without degradation. The helicopter landing capability required structural reinforcement that did not compromise the aesthetic intent.
These are not problems that can be solved by following established procedures – they require engineering creativity, the willingness to develop new solutions for new challenges, and the confidence to guarantee performance on systems that have never been built before.
"The helipad was one of the most challenging elements. We had to design a system that could transform a swimming pool into a certified helicopter landing area in minutes, while maintaining the aesthetic vision of the designers."
After ALFA NERO
In the years since ALFA NERO's launch, Oceanco has continued to build yachts that push boundaries – the 106-metre sailing yacht BLACK PEARL with her DynaRig propulsion system, the 109-metre BRAVO EUGENIA with her LIFE design for reduced environmental impact, the 127-metre KAOS with her dramatic exterior styling – each project building on the lessons learned from previous builds, including the lessons learned from Y702.
The shipyard remains headquartered in Alblasserdam, where a workforce of several hundred continues to build yachts that other shipyards cannot, solving problems that other shipyards will not, and delivering vessels that justify their existence through excellence.
ALFA NERO at sunset | Source: Oceanco
Notable Oceanco Yachts
ALFA NERO belongs to an illustrious fleet. Oceanco's portfolio includes some of the most recognized superyachts ever built:
•Black Pearl (106m, 2018) – The world's largest sailing yacht with DynaRig technology
•Bravo Eugenia (109m, 2018) – Featuring innovative LIFE design for reduced fuel consumption
•Jubilee (110m, 2017) – One of the largest yachts built in the Netherlands
•Seven Seas (86m, 2010) – Steven Spielberg's former yacht
•ALFA NERO (82m, 2007) – Seven-time award winner, first superyacht infinity pool
"ALFA NERO didn't just win awards, she changed the conversation about what a superyacht could be."
The 2024 Refit
In 2024, ALFA NERO underwent a comprehensive refit that refreshed her systems and updated her interiors while preserving the essential character that made her famous. The work was carried out to the same standards that governed her original construction – the same attention to detail, the same refusal to compromise, the same conviction that excellence is not optional but essential.
The yacht that emerged from this refit is not merely maintained but renewed, ready for another decade of service, another generation of guests, another chapter in a story that began in a Dutch shipyard seventeen years ago.
