Superyacht ‘Bayesian’ Raised Months After Tragic Sinking Off Sicily

The superyacht Bayesian, which sank off the Sicilian coast during a fierce summer storm last year, has been successfully recovered from the seabed on Saturday. The recovery marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing investigation into the sinking that claimed seven lives, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his teenage daughter.

Salvage crews raised the 56-metre vessel earlier this week using a floating crane barge off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, where the yacht sank shortly before dawn on August 19, 2024. The complex and costly operation—estimated at $30 million—was conducted under the supervision of British marine consultancy TMC Marine.

Footage from the scene showed the yacht’s white superstructure and dark blue hull emerging from the depths, its 72-metre mast having been previously severed and laid on the seabed to ease recovery.

The Bayesian will now be towed to the port of Termini Imerese, where forensic investigators hope to uncover crucial evidence as to why the vessel went down. Among the possibilities being examined are whether a hatch was left open or the keel was improperly raised.

Mike Lynch, the founder of software firm Autonomy, had recently been acquitted of U.S. fraud charges relating to the 2011 sale of his company to Hewlett-Packard. He was aboard the yacht with his wife, Angela Bacares—whose firm owned the vessel—and their 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, to celebrate the legal victory.

In addition to Lynch and his daughter, five others perished in the disaster: attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda; banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy; and the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas. Nine crew members and six guests, including Bacares, survived.

The recovery operation faced numerous challenges, including a fatal accident in mid-May when Dutch diver Rob Cornelis Maria Huijben, 39, died during underwater work.

Italian prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation. The yacht’s captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, along with two British crew members—Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths—have been placed under formal investigation. Under Italian law, this step does not imply guilt or guarantee charges will follow.

In a further twist, Italian authorities last September requested increased security around the wreck site following concerns that items inside the yacht’s watertight safes could be of interest to foreign intelligence agencies.

The next phase of the investigation will focus on a detailed forensic examination of the hull and mechanical systems as prosecutors seek answers to one of the most high-profile maritime tragedies in recent European memory.

Source: Tovima.com