dpatopbilder – Salvage work on the luxury yacht “Bayesian”. Photo: Salvatore Cavalli/AP/dpa
Keystone
The sinking of the superyacht “Bayesian” off Sicily made headlines around the world last summer. The salvage operation has now begun. The ship, which lies off the Italian Mediterranean island at a depth of around 50 meters, is to be brought to the surface by mid-June. A huge floating crane from a company in the Netherlands will also be used. The maneuver is considered extremely complicated. The costs are estimated at several million euros.
The 56-metre yacht, which was declared “unsinkable”, sank off the small port of Porticello on the north coast in mid-August – during a storm, within just a quarter of an hour. The exact course of events is still unclear. Seven people lost their lives: British software billionaire Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter, two befriended couples and the ship’s cook. Apart from the cook, the entire crew managed to escape. A total of 15 crew members and guests survived.
Much speculation about the cause of the accident
The public prosecutor’s office hopes that the salvage operation will shed light on how the accident could have happened. There is a lot of speculation about this, including links to the secret service. The captain, a very experienced New Zealander, and two other crew members are under investigation. They are accused of ignoring storm warnings and only taking themselves to safety. But it is also a question of whether the manufacturing company is to blame for the sinking of the 17-year-old ship.
The “Bayesian”, weighing 473 tons, was one of the largest sailing yachts in the world. Images from underwater cameras show that the ship is still lying quite intact on its right side on the seabed. Divers have already examined it several times in recent months.
Mini-submarine also in use
Now it is to be brought back to the surface as intact as possible using a crane on a floating platform called “HeboLift 2”. A remote-controlled mini-submarine is also being used. A total of around 70 specialists from various countries are involved.
The salvage operation was supposed to begin at Easter, but has been postponed several times. As a result, the schedule is already behind schedule: the original deadline for salvage by mid-May can no longer be met. The port authorities assume that the operation will take 20 to 25 working days. The ship will then be taken to the port of Termini Imerese near Palermo, where the public prosecutor’s office is also based.
75-meter mast to remain in the water forever
The salvage costs will be borne by the owner company, which belongs to Lynch’s widow. She was also on the ship and survived. The yacht was built by the Perini Navi shipyard, which was later taken over by the listed Sea Group. The 75-metre-high mast of the “Bayesian” is to remain in the water forever. The salvage work is taking place around 900 meters from the shore.
Software entrepreneur Mike Lynch became a billionaire when he sold his company Autonomy to the tech group Hewlett Packard (HP). This led to years of litigation, which the Briton eventually won. According to media reports, he wanted to celebrate his success together with family and friends with a vacation on the Mediterranean, which then ended so tragically.
Lynch also had links to various international intelligence services through another of his companies, the cyber security firm Darktrace. British newspapers in particular speculate that there are safes on board the ship containing two highly encrypted hard drives and secret papers. The sea off Porticello remains closed during the entire salvage operation. Swimming and diving are prohibited, as is flying over with drones.