British superyacht Bayesian resurfaces for 1st time since August sinking ahead of recovery

The British superyacht that sank off Sicily last August killing seven people resurfaced for the first time Friday as salvage recovery crews readied it to be hauled ashore for further investigation.
The white top and blue hull of the 56-meter (184-foot) Bayesian emerged from the depths of the sea in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge. The coast guard said the actual recovery was scheduled to begin Saturday morning.
A spokesman for TMC Maritime, which is conducting the recovery operation, said the vessel has been slowly raised from the seabed, 50 meters (165-feet) down, over the past three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel.
What became visible for the first time Friday on the surface of the water was the top of the passenger area of the Bayesian where passengers would sit, known as the accommodation area, said a spokesman for TMC Maritime, David Wilson.
The British-flagged luxury superyacht sank Aug. 19 off Porticello near Palermo during a violent storm, killing U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others. Fifteen people survived, including the captain and all crew members except the chef.
Italian authorities are conducting a full criminal investigation.
When it resurfaced, the Bayesian was missing its 72-meter (236-foot) mast, which was cut down and left on the seabed for future removal. The mast had to be detached to allow the hull to be brought to a nearly upright position that would allow the craft to be surfaced, TMC Maritime said earlier this week.
British investigators said in an interim report issued last month that the yacht was knocked over by 'extreme wind' and couldn't recover. The report stated that the Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms. Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots (81 mph) at the time of the sinking and 'violently' knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.
Lynch had been celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with his family and the people who had defended him at trial.

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Scottish Sun

41 minutes ago

• Scottish Sun

Moment tragic Bayesian yacht wreck is raised from depths after billionaire Mike Lynch, daughter & 5 others died on board

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THIS is the tragic moment the Bayesian superyacht wreckage is lifted from the depths of the sea - after seven people died when it sank off the coast of Sicily last summer. Tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among those on board the doomed vessel when it plummeted to the bottom of the Mediterranean. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 10 Floating crane ships Hebo LIFT 10 and Hebo LIFT 2 recover part of the Bayesian yacht, June 20 Credit: Reuters 10 The top of the passenger area of the superyacht Bayesian being lifted Credit: Reuters 10 The salvage operation began in May Credit: Reuters 10 Tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah died following the horror accident Credit: Darren Fletcher The vessel sunk in just 16 minutes after being hit by a violent downburst. Haunting images showed the Bayesian resurface for the first time in ten months after it sank in August 2024. A gruelling rescue operation near the fishing village of Porticello, Italy, to recover the £14million yacht has been going on since May. Bystanders watched in awe as the multimillion-pound ship rose to the top of the water as it was dragged up by one of Europe's biggest cranes. A spokesperson for the rescue operation firm said the yacht had been raised slowly from its position 165ft below the surface. The TMC Maritime official said they had been at work for the last three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured properly under the keel. The top of the passenger area of the Bayesian was visible on Friday, but not the entirety of the vessel. The huge £20million recovery undertaking has been plagued by delays and even more tragedy - after a diver working on the operation died last month. Robcornelis Maria Huijben Uiben, 39, died when working 160ft below the ocean alongside other workers - just days after recovery operations began. This has prompted some locals to believe that the sunken ship is "cursed". Captain describes horror moment Bayesian superyacht sank as 'big black triangle' went under & vessel vanished off radar A source with TMC Marine told MailOnline: "It was scheduled for Saturday but with the good weather and the accelerated progress things moved quickly on Friday and she was brought to the surface earlier than planned. "She will remain half submerged until Saturday when the final lift will take place and she will then be sailed to a specially built cradle on the dockside." Workmen were seen on the vessel's deck fixing guide lines as crews geared up for the next phase of the tricky recovery mission. When the wreck finally resurfaced, the Bayesian was missing its towering 236ft mast, which had been sliced off and left on the seabed to be hauled up later. Salvage teams said the mast had to be cut away so the yacht's hull could be tilted upright and brought to the surface. It comes after a bombshell report revealed the astonishing "vulnerability" of Mike Lynch's "unsinkable" Bayesian superyacht which led to its tragic demise. 10 Tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht sank because it was vulnerable to wind, a report claims Credit: EPA 10 Italian coastguards at the Bayesian wreckage Credit: Massimo Sestini/ugpix 10 After examining the sinking of the 180ft Bayesian off Sicily last year, investigators now say the ship was knocked over by 'extreme wind' and could not recover. And they confirmed the vessel's critical weakness was that the ship was vulnerable to wind. An interim report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch said the yacht had a 'vulnerability' to lighter winds but the owner and crew would not have known. It added it had 'limited verified evidence' as the criminal probe in Italy had restricted its access. The major update comes amid the arduous salvage operation for the superyacht. Floating cranes, remote-controlled robots, and specialist divers amongst other marine experts have been brought in to recover the vessel. 10 Lynch, 59, died as the yacht sank Credit: Reuters 10 The Italian Coast Guard's Luigi Dattilo CP940 patrol vessel (left) assists Hebo Lift 2 (right) at the site Credit: AP 10 A Hebo Lift 10 crane, thought to be one of the most powerful in Europe, arrived in Sicily on Saturday, May 3, from Rotterdam. The first parts of tycoon Lynch's superyacht were raised from the seabed in late May Divers recovered the main boom and anchor of the ship nine months after it sank. A pole which holds the bottom of the sail on the 184ft yacht was also recovered. Billionaire Dr Lynch was celebrating being cleared of a massive fraud over the sale of Autonomy to computer giant Hewlett-Packard in 2011 when the Bayesian went down. The other victims were banker Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy Bloomer, 71, as well as US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas. A further 15 people were rescued.

The Sun

an hour ago

• The Sun

Moment tragic Bayesian yacht wreck is raised from depths after billionaire Mike Lynch, daughter & 5 others died on board

THIS is the tragic moment the Bayesian superyacht wreckage is lifted from the depths of the sea - after seven people died when it sank off the coast of Sicily last summer. Tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among those on board the doomed vessel when it plummeted to the bottom of the Mediterranean. 8 8 8 8 The vessel sunk in just 16 minutes after being hit by a violent downburst. Haunting images showed the Bayesian resurface for the first time in ten months after it sank in August 2024. A gruelling rescue operation near the fishing village of Porticello, Italy, to recover the £14million yacht has been going on since May. Bystanders watched in awe as the multimillion-pound ship rose to the top of the water as it was dragged up by one of Europe's biggest cranes. A spokesperson for the rescue operation firm said the yacht had been raised slowly from its position 165ft below the surface. The TMC Maritime official said they had been at work for the last three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured properly under the keel. The top of the passenger area of the Bayesian was visible on Friday, but not the entirety of the vessel. The huge £20million recovery undertaking has been plagued by delays and even more tragedy - after a diver working on the operation died last month. Robcornelis Maria Huijben Uiben, 39, died when working 160ft below the ocean alongside other workers - just days after recovery operations began. This has prompted some locals to believe that the sunken ship is "cursed". A source with TMC Marine told MailOnline: "It was scheduled for Saturday but with the good weather and the accelerated progress things moved quickly on Friday and she was brought to the surface earlier than planned. "She will remain half submerged until Saturday when the final lift will take place and she will then be sailed to a specially built cradle on the dockside." Workmen were seen on the vessel's deck fixing guide lines as crews geared up for the next phase of the tricky recovery mission. When the wreck finally resurfaced, the Bayesian was missing its towering 236ft mast, which had been sliced off and left on the seabed to be hauled up later. Salvage teams said the mast had to be cut away so the yacht's hull could be tilted upright and brought to the surface. It comes after a bombshell report revealed the astonishing "vulnerability" of Mike Lynch's "unsinkable" Bayesian superyacht which led to its tragic demise. 8 8 After examining the sinking of the 180ft Bayesian off Sicily last year, investigators now say the ship was knocked over by 'extreme wind' and could not recover. And they confirmed the vessel's critical weakness was that the ship was vulnerable to wind. An interim report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch said the yacht had a 'vulnerability' to lighter winds but the owner and crew would not have known. It added it had 'limited verified evidence' as the criminal probe in Italy had restricted its access. The major update comes amid the arduous salvage operation for the superyacht. Floating cranes, remote-controlled robots, and specialist divers amongst other marine experts have been brought in to recover the vessel. 8 8 A Hebo Lift 10 crane, thought to be one of the most powerful in Europe, arrived in Sicily on Saturday, May 3, from Rotterdam. The first parts of tycoon Lynch's superyacht were raised from the seabed in late May Divers recovered the main boom and anchor of the ship nine months after it sank. A pole which holds the bottom of the sail on the 184ft yacht was also recovered. Billionaire Dr Lynch was celebrating being cleared of a massive fraud over the sale of Autonomy to computer giant Hewlett-Packard in 2011 when the Bayesian went down. The other victims were banker Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy Bloomer, 71, as well as US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas. A further 15 people were rescued. Inside the Bayesian's final 16 minutes By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter Data recovered from the Bayesian's Automatic Identification System (AIS) breaks down exactly how it sank in a painful minute-by-minute timeline. At 3.50am on Monday August 19 the Bayesian began to shake "dangerously" during a fierce storm, Italian outlet Corriere revealed. Just minutes later at 3.59am the boat's anchor gave way, with a source saying the data showed there was "no anchor left to hold". After the ferocious weather ripped away the boat's mooring it was dragged some 358 metres through the water. By 4am it had began to take on water and was plunged into a blackout, indicating that the waves had reached its generator or even engine room. At 4.05am the Bayesian fully disappeared underneath the waves. An emergency GPS signal was finally emitted at 4.06am to the coastguard station in Bari, a city nearby, alerting them that the vessel had sunk. Early reports suggested the disaster struck around 5am local time off the coast of Porticello Harbour in Palermo, Sicily. The new data pulled from the boat's AIS appears to suggest it happened an hour earlier at around 4am. Some 15 of the 22 onboard were rescued, 11 of them scrambling onto an inflatable life raft that sprung up on the deck. A smaller nearby boat - named Sir Robert Baden Powell - then helped take those people to shore.

Reuters

an hour ago

• Reuters

Tycoon Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht raised towards surface ahead of final lift

PALERMO, Italy, June 20 (Reuters) - Salvage experts winched Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht towards the surface on Friday, 10 months after it went down off the coast of Sicily, killing the British tech tycoon, his teenage daughter and five others. The vessel is scheduled to be lifted out of the water in the final phase of the recovery on Saturday, TMC Marine, the company leading the salvage operation, said. "Accelerated progress in salvage works off the coast of northern Sicily mean that all preparations are now nearing completion, ahead of the delicate lifting procedure," the statement said. The work was briefly halted last month after the death of a diver involved in the operation. The 56-metre-long (184-foot) Bayesian was moored off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, in August last year when it sank during a sudden storm. The yacht was vulnerable to violent winds and was probably knocked over by gusts of more than 117 km (73 miles) per hour, an interim UK report said last month. The recovery process has been made easier after the vessel's 72-metre mast was detached using a remote-controlled cutting tool and placed on the seabed on Tuesday. The hull of the yacht has been supported by a specially designed steel wire lifting arrangement which is, in turn, attached to a floating lifting asset. The vessel is between two barges supplied by Hebo Maritimeservice, a Dutch specialist salvage company. The salvage experts are now reinforcing the cables because the yacht will be heavier once pulled out of the water, a source at the Italian coast guard said. The yacht is expected to be transported to the nearby port of Termini Imerese on Monday and handed over to the authorities who are investigating the tragedy. Lynch's daughter Hannah, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and chef Recaldo Thomas were killed when the yacht sank. Nine other crew members and six guests were rescued.