Moonstone: The Striking Superyacht With a Color-Changing Hull, Controllable via Your Phone

Oceanco is a name that even readers with no particular interest in superyachts, naval design, and tech or luxury assets are probably familiar with. From the handful of shipyards known on a global scale, Oceanco stands out as the go-to place where you can turn the most outrageous (naval) dreams into reality.

Over the past couple of years, Oceanco has been in the headlines a lot because of ongoing sanctions against Russian oligarchs. We're talking about a very specific type of dream here, the kind that you need serious cash to turn into reality – and that's something these Russian oligarchs had an abundance of. So many of the super- and megayachts seized or arrested around the world are Oceanco builds.

This one isn't, but only because it was never built.

Moonstone is a 2016 concept unveiled at the Dubai Boat Show of the same year. Unlike most concepts we've covered over the years, this one was a complete study, just waiting for the right person with the right budget to sign on the dotted line. Had that happened, the owner could have taken delivery of the finished superyacht in three years' time.

This never came to be, but Moonstone remains a solid example of how you can use technology and innovation to take a superyacht beyond the mere physical stage of being a boat and transform it into an experience – one that can change on a daily basis, at the simple press of a button. How's that for fancy, right?

Moonstone is named after the translucent gemstone and the way it can capture light or fragments of the environment in its many facets. Based on a 90-meter (295-foot) existing Oceanco platform with a 15-meter (49-foot) beam, it was designed by Van Geest Design with Temeloy Advanced Lighting Design, which provided the lighting systems that give it its unique feature.

"The inspiration for Moonstone was basically nature," designer Pieter van Geest said at the Dubai event, where a scale model of the superyacht went on display. "Normally boats look like they disturb the horizon. We wanted to make something that actually belongs."

The hull of the superyacht is made up of hundreds of faceted surfaces that serve a double purpose, either reflecting back the surrounding environment ("like a diamond") or providing the background for a most incredible light show.

In total, over 600 such dimmable light panels would fit on the hull, powered by 70 square meters (753 square feet) of solar panels on the upper deck, in keeping with the original question by Oceanco, "What if you were powered by light?"

That's not to say that Moonstone is entirely run on solar because propulsion would still be conventional, with twin MTU e20V4000 M73L engines delivering 3,600kW/4,828hp each and a top speed of 18 knots (20.7 mph/33.3 kph). It's just these panels that are "green," with the designers estimating that a full day of sun exposure would guarantee three hours of programmable light shows.

In its most natural state, so without relying on tech, Moonstone reflects the surrounding environment, completely blending into that horizon line.

Fish-eye cameras can be used to capture images, be they city skylines, sunsets, or whatever tickles the owner's fancy. The overhangs can display animated content, while the backlight system integrated into the panels can play back those images at the touch of a button.

In much simpler words, instead of sharing on social media whatever natural landscape impressed you the most, you could display it on the hull of your superyacht. Or, as Oceanco so beautifully put it, "Moonstone is all about seeing, being, giving, belonging, and sharing the experience." It's showing off elevated to the level of fine art.

When presented in Dubai, Moonstone was three years away from completion should an owner have come along – which didn't happen. Besides the innovative aspect of an ever-changing hull, it was packed with luxury features that should have appealed to potential buyers, including a touch-and-go helipad, an absolutely breathtaking sky lounge with 360-degree views, and a Jacuzzi, a gorgeous beach club, and stylish, "restrained" interiors.

Because this is a thematic concept, the large pool comes with lit walls, allowing the owner to "play" the same imagery on both hull and inside the pool. Here's Moonstone laughing in the face of all the other superyachts that can only match with a tender.

Deck furniture was designed to be sleek in styling and versatile, allowing adaptability to a wide range of outings. Accommodation is for 12 to 14 guests, with the owner's suite getting its own private deck with terrace. Folding platforms enhance available space and offer easier access to water, and the watertoys stowed out of sight in the garage.

The only thing that was never mentioned about Moonstone was pricing, but that probably played no part in it not being commissioned. Oceanco makes some of the world's finest and most spectacular superyachts – and they're also very expensive. Moonstone was a concept of the "if you have to ask you can’t afford it" type, an outrageous naval dream that wasn't meant to be.