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A 55-metre (180ft) barge carrying a heavy-lift crane has begun work to raise the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian from the seabed off Sicily, where it sank last summer killing seven people including the UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.
The barge, named Hebo Lift 2, with its 700-sq-metre deck, specialist diving apparatus and a remotely operated underwater vehicle, arrived last week in Porticello, a fishing port near Palermo, where marine salvage experts have started operations to raise the Bayesian.
On 19 August 2024, the 56-metre yacht was anchored just off Porticello when the vessel was struck by a violent storm shortly before dawn and sank. Lynch, once described as Britain’s Bill Gates, and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, were among the victims.
Morgan Stanley’s international chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife, Judy, also died along with the US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda, and boat’s chef Recaldo Thomas.
Fifteen people survived, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, whose company owned the Bayesian.
Experts expect the salvage operation to be fiendishly complex.
“The mobilisation of this specialist salvage consortium and key lifting assets follows a detailed assessment of the best technical methodology to safely recover Bayesian,” said Marcus Cave, a director of the British-based consultancy TMC Marine, which will oversee a consortium of expert salvage specialists undertaking the project.
“Every marine salvage operation requires unique planning considerations, given the specific marine conditions, and this is no different. The safety of personnel on site, environmental protection and recovery of Bayesian intact, have been pivotal to the planning and decision-making process.”
The wreckage sits at a depth of 50 metres in the bay of Porticello, which is under surveillance by Italian authorities.
During the recovery, salvage workers will use undersea drones with laser scanners with Hebo Lift 2 remotely operating underwater with specialist diving equipment.
Offshore, the Hebo Lift 10 – one of Europe’s largest floating cranes – which is not yet involved in the operations, will use its 83-metre boom to hoist the yacht from the seabed.
“Once mobilised on site, these dedicated lifting assets will be supported by specialist anti-pollution experts and assets that have been monitoring Bayesian since her sinking,” TMC Marine said in a statement. “They will help to continue to ensure that protection of the marine life and environment is maintained throughout the recovery of the Bayesian.”
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To facilitate the lift, the 72-metre, 24-tonne mainmast will be cut away. Once raised, the vessel will be towed to Termini Imerese, where prosecutors have opened an inquiry into suspected manslaughter. The Bayesian’s captain, James Cutfield, a New Zealander, and two British crew members, Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths, have been placed under investigation.
In Italy this does not imply guilt or mean formal charges will necessarily follow.
Investigators hope the yacht will yield vital clues: whether a series of human errors led to the sinking, as initially suspected, or whether other factors were at play. Once ashore, forensic examination will determine whether one of the hatches remained open and if the keel was improperly raised.
Sicilian port officials have declared a 650-metre exclusion zone around the sunken vessel, forbidding “any navigation, anchoring, diving, swimming or fishing until the work is complete”.
Insurers estimate the salvage will cost about $30m (£22.4m), a bill the Bayesian’s underwriters will pick up.
The Italian coastguard, which is supervising operations and patrolling the security perimeter, said the overall operation to recover the Bayesian could take from 20 to 25 days, weather permitting.
