Sarah Rainesford
Correspondents of Eastern and Southern Europe in Rome
Watch: British superyacht raised from the seabed sinks
The remains of the Bayesian superyacht are on dry lands in Sicily after being lifted from the seabed, and they took their slow, final journey from where they sank into a storm last summer, killing seven passengers and crew.
The yacht belonging to British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was ultimately recovered in a complex business worth $30 million (£22.2 million) to allow Italian prosecutors to inspect the shipwreck as part of an ongoing investigation.
Lynch and his teenage daughter were among the seven passengers and crew who died when Bayesian fell into the sudden, extreme winds and sank within minutes.
Their bodies were retrieved by divers a few days later.
That day, other small ships in the same area survived the storm and became experts who struggled to understand why the gorgeous yachts were so badly affected.
At the time, Sicily prosecutors published a criminal investigation into a potential manslaughter and a shipwreck of negligence, describing the results as “completely unpredictable.”
They made it clear that restoring Bayesian itself is essential.
Now, the yacht is not out of the water, so prosecutors can start looking into physical evidence and thinking about some answers.
The rescue operation began in May, but was soon struck by a fresh disaster when one of the divers was killed in an underwater explosion.
The entire operation involving dozens of experts had to be suspended.
The diving team was then replaced by a remotely controlled submerged for safety, slowing down the process.
Securing the straps around the hull, or the container body, was also more difficult than expected.
However, last week, the Salvage team managed by TMC Maritime ended up cutting off a huge 72m aluminum mast from the yacht, allowing the hull to right and right under the water.
Raising 50m to the surface was a delicate three-day operation with regular checks for fuel spills and other contamination.
Prosecutors wanted the superyacht relics to remain as unharmed as possible.
It was only Sunday that Bayesians were ready to be carried towards the coast around 16km (10 miles) as they hung from a giant floating crane with multiple straps under their belly.
On Monday morning, it was left to dry out the now grey, abused remains left to dry out before formal testing or forensic testing was carried out, and was hanged into a metal cradle at the port of Termini Imeles.
In the meantime, the salvage team will retrieve huge masts and rigging from the seabed, and will eventually sweep other materials to help with the investigation.
Lynch, a high-tech entrepreneur who is sometimes called “British Bill Gates,” was acquitted of fraud in the US last summer, and his trip to Sicily with family and friends was planned as a celebration.
Early on August 19th, his gorgeous yacht anchored offshore near Portisello Port as the storm struck.
Since then, there has been endless speculation as to why Bayesians sunk.
Three crew members, including the captain, are under investigation.
However, the Italian prosecutor’s team remains nervous about their work. Last year, in their only press comments, they said they would explore whether the accident was due to human error in the yacht or a potential design flaw.
“Only after analyzing the wrecks we will understand what happened, whether the water was in, whether there was enough water to sink, and if other factors were involved,” emphasized then prosecutor Rafaelle Cammarano.
Last month, a preliminary report by British maritime investigator Maibe found that Bayesian, including its huge single mast – is extremely vulnerable to high wind speeds.
The report suggests that no owners were aware of this by the crew.
The statement given to the author also suggested that all the hatching and doors involved were closed when the storm was built.
This report was made for safety purposes, not for criminal prosecution – avoiding future disasters at sea.
PA Media
Now that Bayesian has landed, Myve experts have access to “verifying and refine that information,” and the BBC said, “take into consideration all the factors that could have contributed to the accident.”
Lawyers representing some of the people killed describe this as the “most important stage” of the investigation.
“We’ll be able to see which part of the boat has water in and sink,” Recaldo Thomas told the BBC, lawyer Mario Bellavista, who works for the family of Bayesian chefs.
“You can see which hatches are open or closed, or there are other entrances to the water.”
He said the wreckage would provide “first real evidence” to prosecutors.
As another lawyer said, those prosecutors need to find out now “how this happened on such an incredible boat.”
Additional report by Giulia Tommasi.
