Sunken Superyacht Raised Off Sicily Coast
Nearly a year after it tragically sank off the coast of Sicily, killing seven people, the luxury superyacht Bayesian has been raised from the seabed in a major recovery operation led by Italian authorities.
The 56-metre (183-foot) vessel, once owned by British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, was hoisted from the depths by cranes near the port of Porticello, where it had been anchored before the disaster.
The wreck, heavily damaged and encrusted with mud, was lifted as part of an effort to aid ongoing investigations into the circumstances of the sinking.
Italian officials confirmed that the yacht will remain suspended for thorough forensic inspections, as requested by the public prosecutor’s office.
It will then be transported to the nearby port of Termini Imerese, where prosecutors overseeing the case are based.
The Bayesian sank in the early hours of 19 August last year during a sudden and violent storm.
Wind gusts exceeding 80 mph struck the vessel, which investigators now believe had critical stability vulnerabilities that were not fully understood by its owner or crew.
A recent report by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) concluded that winds over 73 mph could have easily capsized the yacht. Modelling commissioned after the disaster suggested the Bayesian flooded and sank within seconds.
However, the MAIB noted that its analysis was based on limited verified evidence, as it did not yet have access to the wreck at the time.
The raising of the vessel is considered vital to advancing both UK and Italian investigations, which aim to determine whether design flaws, operational oversights, or negligence contributed to the incident.
The tragedy claimed the lives of seven of the 22 people onboard, including Mike Lynch, 59; his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy, 71; prominent U.S. attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda; and Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef working aboard the yacht.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors rescued after the vessel capsized and rapidly sank.
Witnesses in the fishing village of Porticello recalled the terrifying moment the ship vanished “within minutes” during what has since been classified as freak weather.
The complex recovery operation had previously been delayed due to safety concerns, including the death of a diver involved in the salvage effort last month.
Now that the Bayesian has finally been retrieved, investigators hope the wreck will reveal crucial evidence to explain the series of failures that led to one of the Mediterranean’s most devastating recent maritime disasters.
Sunken Superyacht Raised Off Sicily Coast