Meet ‘Dar,’ the Sleek 295-Foot Superyacht That’s Shaped Like a Shark
Oceanco’s 295-foot Dar, meaning “gift” in Russian, made its world debut at the 2018 Monaco Yacht Show. Robb Report stepped aboard at the time, and toured the yacht with Valentina Zannier, head of interior design for Nuvolari Lenard, which was tasked with creating a subtle, one-of-a-kind interior. As well as 120 different fabrics and 24 saddle leathers, the interior includes maple veneer, limed ash, and sycamore that is dyed gray.
Exterior styling by Miami-based designer Luiz de Basto Design takes inspiration from nature, notably a hammerhead shark. The interior focuses on detail and craftsmanship, calling upon some of the world’s best outfitters and artisans to bring the original owner’s vision for a marine-led environment to life. Emphasis is placed on balancing sea views with guest privacy. This is best exemplified on the owner’s aft deck, which features a rotating sofa that can spin 360 degrees to capture the best vistas. It is flanked by “privacy glass” balustrades.
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Based in Monaco for the summer, Dar is currently listed for sale with Large Yacht Corp for around $223 million. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about one of the largest yachts on the brokerage market.
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Transparent Design
When Dar delivered in July 2018, it featured the latest advances in glass technology. The aluminum superstructure is covered in 4,300 square feet of dark, reflective glass, which lets the owner see out but gawkers can’t see in. The six-foot-by-10-foot glass panels are fastened to the superstructure using a special glue and sealant, a novel process that needed to be approved by Lloyd’s. There are 186 windows in the superstructure, 28 of which are double curved. The recurring theme of glass is also evident throughout the interior, particularly in the floor-to-ceiling windows and the glass elevator floor by Benvenuto Artglass.
Shark Attack
The natural world was a key source of inspiration for Dar’s exterior designer, Luiz de Basto. “The yacht’s curved main superstructure is made of a black, continuous organic form that reminded me of a shark, so I decided to shape the mast like a dorsal fin, and everything else just flows from there,” de Basto tells Robb Report. “When you view the boat from above, the wing stations resemble a hammerhead.” Fittingly, Dar was known as Project Shark until its delivery.
Marine World
The owner’s interior brief asked for a “balanced combination of visual themes from nature,” such as blossoms, feathers, and sea life: Italian studio Nuvolari Lenard answered with fish, leaves, olive trees, blossoms and waves in myriad materials. There are glass artworks, sculpted leather wall panels by English artist Helen Amy Murray, and a theatrical staircase with bas-relief fish made from Venetian plaster (pictured) by DKT Artworks. The walls of the guest corridors are covered in oak trees that were sculpted from plaster using a special spatula technique and then painted by hand.
Games Room
The cinema in the sky lounge has more than 1,300 films available. But if that fails to keep guests entertained, the games table (pictured) in the main salon is guaranteed to bring late-night revelry.
Waiting in Style
The side-entrance lobby, dressed in organic sea life shapes, is a welcoming area for guests stepping on and off the yacht, with high interior ceilings that reach up to almost eight feet in some areas.
Being Served
The formal dining table in the main salon seats up to 18 guests and features striking resin and metal art panels by British firm Based Upon. There is more outdoor dining on the upper deck aft, where taupe chunky knit chairs and bright pops of red, soft furnishings bring style to the table.
Owning It
Dar sleeps 14 guests across six cabins, including two VIP cabins and four double cabins, each with en suite bathrooms. The private owner’s suite on the upper deck has a bathroom, a dressing room finished in palladium, and a private deck with Jacuzzi encased in tinted privacy glass. Other flourishes and finishes include “blossomed art glass” by DKT and ornate glass surfaces crafted by List GC.
Gracious Transportation
Dar has two 34-foot “mini-me” custom tenders by Hodgdon Yachts—one a covered limousine and the other open—which echo the design of the mothership. When covered, the upper-deck pool, which has a waterfall and swimming jet, converts into a helipad for guests arriving by air transfer.
Pamper Perfect
On the lower deck, the family wellness area includes a large hammam, a sauna with a sea view, a gym, and a spa and massage room decorated with intricately stitched and painted wall art. A beach club at the stern is where guests access the vessel’s many toys.
Technical Innovations
The 22 tons of glass was not the only technological first aboard Dar. The Oceanco was also the first yacht in the Netherlands to have the official Lloyd’s Register Integrated Bridge System (IBS) notation, designating its advanced pilothouse.
