The Black Pearl superyacht that docked in Bermuda this week may share a name with the fictional ship in the popular Pirates of the Caribbean film series but the sleek vessel is a considerable upgrade on the old galleon.

The award-winning 350ft sailing yacht, with its three towering masts, arrived in the Olde Towne in St George on Monday.

The transatlantic voyager is owned by the Russian family of the late billionaire Oleg Burlakov and registered in the Cayman Islands.

It was built by Oceanco in Alblasserdam in the Netherlands and launched in September 2016.

The hull is made of steel, the super-structure is aluminium and the masts are carbon fibre.

Early in 2018 it was delivered to the customer after undergoing sea trials and the next year it won Boat International’s Sailing Superyacht of the Year award.

The three 230ft-high masts and sail area of 31,215 sqft enable the vessel to travel at speeds up to 30 knots (56km/h, 35mph) in suitable weather conditions.

It also has diesel engines that can propel it to 17.5 knots (32km/h, 20mph).

The private yacht can accommodate up to 12 guests in one master suite, two VIP and two double guests cabins.

Guests can enjoy luxury features, including an on-deck Jacuzzi, convertible cinema, full-beam beach club and a tender garage.

The DynaRig consists of freestanding rotating masts with rigid yards and acts as a square rig.

Each of Black Pearl’s masts supports six yards, which, unlike a conventional square rigger, have built-in camber of 12 per cent.

The 15 square sails are set between the yards in such a way that when deployed there are no gaps in the sail plan of each mast, enabling them to act as a single airfoil.

The furling sails are stored in the mast and can be deployed along tracks on the yards in six minutes. The sails are trimmed by rotating the masts.

As there is no rigging, the masts and yards can be rotated without restriction for all points of sail, making Black Pearl a capable upwind clipper.

The yacht was known during its build process as Oceanco Y712 and thereafter as “Project Solar”.

Black Pearl’s design means in theory that it could cross the Atlantic using only five gallons of fuel, aided by regenerative technologies.

One key technology to support this is to use the speed of the vessel through the water under sail to generate electricity with a variable pitch propeller.

The yacht also features heat capture technologies and large-scale storage batteries to capture energy generated but not immediately used.

Black Pearl will be in Bermuda’s waters until May.