1889
A beginning in Tolkamer
The Bodewes family establishes a yard for iron shipbuilding on the Rhine.
Designers & builders since 1889
A long history.
A forward-looking
shipyard.
Generations of people, vessels and ideas have shaped De Hoop. Explore the story behind the yard — and the experience we bring to its next chapter.
Rooted on the Rhine
More than a date.
A living body
of experience.
Our roots in Lobith–Tolkamer reach back to 1889, when the Bodewes family established a shipbuilding business here. The yard’s story includes growth, difficult periods, rebuilding and expansion into new markets.
The thread running through it is the ability to turn knowledge into vessels. That experience continues to inform how De Hoop approaches shipbuilding today.
Selected milestones
The chapters that
shaped De Hoop.
1927
The De Hoop name
The anniversary history marks the transition from the Bodewes business to De Hoop.
After 1945
Rebuilding and renewal
Following wartime damage, the yard rebuilds and develops its shipbuilding activities.
1991
A stronger passenger-vessel focus
Alongside seagoing work, De Hoop develops its inland passenger market.
1999–2001
A broader international footprint
Heusden joins in 1999; the Houma yard in Louisiana follows in 2001, extending offshore-market access.
2004–2007
A new ownership chapter
Patrick Janssens joins the board in 2004. Heusden and Houma are sold in 2005 and 2006. Foxhol is acquired in 2007, followed by the management buyout that October.
2014
125 years of shipbuilding
The anniversary book brings together the yard’s history, people, regional role and vessel records.
Today
A flexible organisation for a new era
An experienced foundation, a young and agile core team, specialist partnerships and the use of AI and digital techniques shape De Hoop’s current approach.
People, craft and vessels
Experience built
one ship at a time.
The archive gives a glimpse of the work behind the vessels: hull construction, outfitting and the people who made it happen.
The original anniversary publication
De Hoop
125 jaar miracles.
The Dutch-language book by Hans de Beukelaer and Egbert Wever, published by Fagus, explores the yard’s first 125 years. It includes archive photography, personal accounts, the regional context and an appendix of vessels built between 1889 and 2014.
This is a historical publication. Its descriptions of sites, organisation and facilities reflect the period it covers.
Open the anniversary book ↗PDF · Dutch · approximately 23 MB · opens separately
History with a future
The knowledge stays.
The way we work
keeps evolving.
De Hoop’s next chapter brings its heritage into a flexible project organisation. Our own team and facilities provide the backbone, with specialist partners brought together around the work.
Open Shipyard gives owners an agreed space and support framework for their own projects. Our Repair & Refit services bring technical work, interior renewal and yard support together around each vessel.
Historical sources: De Hoop’s anniversary book. The current organisational approach is presented separately from the historical record.
De Hoop in pictures
History you can see.
Original photographs connect the yard’s heritage with the vessels and infrastructure that shaped it.
