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Yacht of the Week: M/Y DAR
The editorial team at Superyachts.com is proud to introduce a new feature series called Yacht of the Week. It is an opportunity to exhibit a superyacht we feel to be particularly noteworthy, whether for her stunning exterior, interior, technology or pioneering qualities.
This week our focus is M/Y DAR, previously known as Project Shark — a strikingly modern 90-metre superyacht that was launched and delivered to her owners this summer by Dutch shipyard Oceanco.
This build has caught our eye because of her superb exterior design from Miami-based designer Luiz de Basto. Standout features include her monolithic reflective glass panelling that flows down through the decks, and a distinctive black and white colour scheme. DAR is a call back to the hay-days of Alfa Nero with a bold, futuristic style that echoes true custom design evolution.
DAR’s profile is long and sleek, giving it the impression of being lean and powerful in similarity to that of a shark’s body. Even the mast on top of the yacht has been designed to resemble a shark’s fin, a very contemporary detail.
This came after the initial design was noticed to resemble a hammerhead shark when viewed from above, and the design team decided to run with that vision. The long design has lent itself to the sprawling beach club area, where de Basto has managed to incorporate a dive centre, sauna, submarine storage and hammam.
“The profile has a unique sense of contrast and homogeneity between the dark glass and the white balconies, providing a constant exchange in shape and lines between the two elements,” says DeBasto. “My initial drawings may have looked like a futuristic concept, yet she is now a very real yacht on account of the execution made possible by the advanced technology of the Oceanco engineering team and by the vision of her experienced owner and his team.”
De Basto has designed the entire upper deck without walkaround access to ensure complete privacy for the owners, to whom the entire deck is dedicated, including a private forward-facing Jacuzzi. The vast use of black tinted glass offers glorious panoramic floor-to-ceiling views of the marine environment to the aft, port and starboard. The huge windows will also ensure that the yacht is flooded with light from all angles, creating light, bright spaces.
Little is known about the interior design by Nuvolari & Lenard, but it is said to echo the exterior with the interior woods providing stark contrast to the dark exterior. The owners insisted on the use of light woods, opting for different shades of sycamore fiddleback, small details in Brazilian carballo wood and use of grey-bleached maple. Other accents include bas-reliefs, metallic surfaces and 3D leather lacquers.
The tasteful combination of bespoke finishes brings the interior masterfully together with the exterior to create a seamless transition from one to the other to maximise the connection to the outdoors.
Yacht of the Week will return next week with another in-depth exploration of an extraordinary superyacht.
"The profile has a unique sense of contrast and homogeneity between the dark glass and the white balconies, providing a constant exchange in shape and lines between the two elements... My initial drawings may have looked like a futuristic concept, yet she is now a very real yacht."