Bayesian salvage: Sunken superyacht to be lifted this weekend
Bayesian photographed in Milazzo Harbor; Sicily. before the accident. Image courtesy of Sfische via Wikimedia.
The 56-metre Bayesian is set to be lifted from the seabed this weekend in a high-stakes operation off the coast of Sicily, nearly a year after it sank in a violent storm that killed seven people, including British tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his teenage daughter Hannah.
Salvage crews are preparing to raise the 56-metre Perini Navi sailing yacht near the fishing town of Porticello on Saturday or Sunday, ahead of its transportation to Termini Imerese – the base for Italian prosecutors investigating the incident.
Investigators in the UK and Italy have emphasised that raising the vessel is crucial to understanding the exact circumstances of the sinking. A source involved in the operation told MailOnline: “After a run of bad luck, there was a little bit of fortune when the mast was removed as the weight shifted and allowed the messenger lines to be thread underneath. If it wasn’t for that we would still be looking at lifting her at the same time of the month but now it’s a good week ahead of what was initially thought to be the lifting date.”
The operation has faced multiple challenges. Salvage work began two months ago but was delayed following the tragic death of Dutch diver Rob Huijben, who was working on preliminary operations. His death on 9 May prompted a shift to using remote-operated equipment for much of the underwater work. The stern of the vessel had also been lodged in hard-packed seabed clay, complicating efforts to feed cables beneath the hull.
In a carefully orchestrated sequence, Bayesian‘s towering 72-metre mast – among the tallest in the world – was removed using a remote-controlled diamond wire cutting tool. It was placed on the seabed for recovery at a later date. This reportedly allowed the hull, which had been lying on its starboard side 50 metres below the surface, to gently rotate towards an upright position.
Over the coming days, hoses and plugs will be installed into fuel tank vents now accessible on the starboard side. Once all adjustments are made, the yacht will be tilted fully upright and lifted by HEBO LIFT 10 – a 5,695-gross-tonne heavy-lift crane vessel among the most powerful in Europe. Eight steel straps, four of which had previously been fed under the bow, will support the vessel during the lift.
If the operation proceeds as planned, Bayesian will be hoisted to the surface and suspended overnight in an upright position. On Monday, it will be carried 12 miles to Termini Imerese, where it will be placed onto a specially manufactured steel cradle on the quayside. Once ashore, the yacht will be allowed to dry before inspections commence.
Marcus Cave of British firm TMC Marine, which is overseeing the operation, told LBC: “The complex work to safely recover the Bayesian has been progressed quickly in the past week by the contractors’ personnel. Over the coming days, all going well, the vessel’s final recovery will take place this weekend and lead to her ultimate safe delivery to the authorities in Termini Imerese.”
Around 70 salvage specialists from across Europe have been working on the recovery, which is expected to cost around £20m. A precautionary oil boom remains in place around the vessel, and anti-pollution teams continue to monitor the site.
The Bayesian sank in just 16 minutes on 19 August 2024 after it was struck by a powerful downburst while sailing in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said in an interim report that the yacht had a previously unknown vulnerability to extreme winds – one that neither the crew nor the owner could have reasonably foreseen.
Among those who perished were Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, both of whom lived near London. Also killed were Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy, 71, from Sevenoaks, Kent. American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, as well as Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas, were also lost. Fifteen others, including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, were rescued.
Three surviving crew members – New Zealand skipper James Cutfield, British first engineer Tim Parker Eton, and nightwatchman Matthew Griffith – are under investigation on suspicion of multiple manslaughter and causing a disaster. Prosecutors are examining whether the yacht’s hatches and doors were properly secured ahead of the storm, which had been forecast to bring winds of up to 90mph.
Inquest proceedings are underway in the UK for the British nationals who died. The incident occurred just two days after Lynch’s business partner, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed in a separate accident while jogging in Cambridgeshire.
Lynch, who founded software company Autonomy in 1996, had recently been cleared of fraud charges in the United States relating to the $11bn sale of the firm to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. The yacht trip had reportedly been organised to celebrate his legal acquittal.
