EDITOR’S NOTE, AUGUST 26, 2024: For a recap of facts so far, read “The Bayesian Sinking: Sorting Facts From Fiction and Opinions.”
UPDATE, AUGUST 23, 2024: Divers have recovered the seventh and last missing body from the yacht Bayesian. The body is that of Hannah Lynch, the daughter of Mike Lynch, the yacht’s owner. Mike Lynch’s body was recovered yesterday according to the Italian Coast Guard.
Late in the day of August 21 Italian time, Salvatore Cocina, the head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, confirmed that searchers recovered four bodies from the yacht Bayesian and found a fifth. The following day, Vincenzo Zagarola, an Italian Coast Guard official, identified the four. They are Jonathan and Judy Bloomer as well as Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda. Jonathan Bloomer was chairman of Morgan Stanley International and chair of the insurance company Hiscox. Judy Bloomer was a former trustee for the UK charity The Eve Appeal, focused on gynecological cancers. Chris Morvillo was a partner at the law firm Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda was a jewelry designer.
Six other guests, the captain, and eight crewmembers escaped on the 19th in a liferaft, several with injuries. Until the 21st, the chef was the only confirmed fatality. Search-and-rescue personnel found his body on the 19th.
Search efforts had been active since the 19th. Patrol boats, a helicopter, and divers from the Coast Guard and other search-and-rescue personnel were all involved. The Coast Guard was additionally using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), a remote-controlled underwater device (below). It can operate in waters to 984 feet (300 meters) and stay submerged for six to seven hours. It also can record video and take photos. The divers, meanwhile, could stay under water for just 10 minutes at a time with the gear they used. Investigators will use the photos and videos to put together how the yacht Bayesian sank.
Despite some early media reports that the mast snapped during the accident, the Coast Guard says there is no evidence it occurred. The Coast Guard also says no evidence shows a hull breach. Investigators from Italy and the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (the yacht Bayesian flew the British flag) are interviewing survivors and collecting further evidence. A full report on what took place leading to the sinking may take weeks or months. Notably, the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office in Sicily, which is among the investigators, plans to hold a press conference on August 24 revealing first findings.
In the meantime, yesterday, Giovanni Costantino, chairman of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini Navi, asserts to the newspaper Corriere della Serra in a Q&A that the crew is responsible. “Everything that was done reveals a very long summation of errors,” he says. “The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor. And then why didn’t the crew know about the incoming storm?” He adds, “The passengers reported something absurd, that is, that the storm came unexpectedly, suddenly. It’s not true. It was all predictable. I have the weather charts here in front of me.” When the editors mention he reportedly was angry about the early news of the sinking, he replies, “We have suffered enormous damage to our image and a decline in the stock market. We are evaluating possible actions to protect our image and the credibility of Perini Navi.”
Costantino further claims that video shows Bayesian dragged anchor for four minutes, simultaneously taking on water because her mast lights went off. He believes water entered more than one hatch or door. “From when it started to come in to when it went down, six minutes passed,” he asserts. Costantino also says, “a Perini ship withstood Hurricane Katrina, Category 5. Does it seem to you that it cannot resist a tornado here?” He calls sailing yachts “unsinkable” and “one of the safest boats in the world,” repeating the unsinkable statement to SkyNews. In another interview, with Rai 1’s TG1 news program, Costantino says that AIS data and video reveal 16 minutes passed from the strong winds’ onset and water ingress to the sinking. He adds that he has given Italian investigators this information.
Camper & Nicholsons, which manages the yacht Bayesian, issued a statement today thanking “the tireless efforts” of the multiple agencies and local mariners in rescuing the 15 survivors. The company also thanks “all those who worked tirelessly on the search and recovery operations over the past week.” It adds, “Those on board were valued colleagues, friends, and clients. Our deepest sympathies are with their loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.” Camper & Nicholsons says it continues “fully cooperating with authorities and offering unwavering support to the families affected by this tragic loss.”
Read on for our original article.
A strong storm in Italy early this morning, which may have included a tornado, has resulted in the sailing yacht Bayesian sinking. Although several people who were aboard are ashore following rescue, six are still missing.
The 184-foot (56-meter) yacht was at anchor off Santa Nicolicchia, in the village of Porticello on Sicily, between Palermo and Cefalu. Baia Santa Nicolicchia, a restaurant on the harbor, shared a photo on social media last evening of the harbor prior to the storm. The restaurant identifies a sailing yacht with a tall mast in the picture as being the one which sank. In a separate post, the restaurant further shared security-camera footage of the storm tossing its outdoor furnishings. Other security footage from a nearby villa shows the yacht as the storm worsens. The owner of that villa tells the newspaper Giornale Di Sicilia that the yacht disappeared “in just 60 seconds.”
Although neither the restaurant nor Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s fire and rescue service, name the yacht, AIS data reveals that it was Bayesian. Camper & Nicholsons, which manages the yacht, confirms Bayesian encountered severe weather and sank around 4:30 a.m. local time.
According to Vigili del Fuoco, its search and rescue personnel responded at 5 a.m. to reports of the yacht sinking. Respondents included divers and personnel in a helicopter. Emergency personnel arrived to find the yacht Bayesian submerged at a depth of about 164 feet (50 meters). Initially, the agency says, 15 people were rescued, some with injuries. Their rescue occurred with assistance from another vessel that had been nearby and which did not suffer significant damage. The captain of that vessel says the 15 people were in a liferaft, and four were injured. Seven people were still missing as of the agency’s report at 6 a.m. local time. At 12 p.m. local time, however, Vigili del Fuoco reported recovering the body of a man outside the yacht.
Several conflicting media reports initially identified the man as Mike Lynch, the owner. Lynch is further one of England’s highest-profile tech entrepreneurs. The Associated Press, however, quotes Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service, as believing the person is the chef, adding that Lynch is among the missing. The Associated Press, the Financial Times newspaper, and other media reports additionally indicate that Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued. Italian media also report a 1-year-old among the rescued, along with the child’s mother.
Camper & Nicholsons confirms 12 guests and 10 crew were aboard, and that 15 rescues occurred. The company plans to release more information as it becomes available. “Our priority is assisting with the ongoing search and providing all necessary support to the rescued passengers and crew,” it says.
Search operations are ongoing, by Vigili del Fuoco and the Coast Guard.
Perini Navi launched the yacht Bayesian in 2008 as Salute (top). She was among the first deliveries in its successful 56M series. The series featured design by the in-house team and naval architect Ron Holland. As such, she accommodated 12 passengers and 10 crew. Making her different from her sisterships, though, she had a 246-foot-tall (75-meter-tall) mast. It was the world’s tallest aluminum mast.
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