A New York Times investigation into the sinking of superyacht Bayesian off Sicily claims its extra-tall mast may have contributed to the capsize.
At 72 metres (237 feet) high, the mast was one of the tallest in the world.
The newspaper reports that the height of the mast and the engineering to accommodate it made it vulnerable.
It says the yacht was an “outlier”, as sister vessels made by the same Italian manufacturer were built with two masts instead of one.
Seven people died and 15 survived in the sinking during a storm on August 19th last. The 56-metre yacht has been anchored 300 metres (980 ft) off the port of Porticello, about 15 km east of Palermo, Sicily.
The seven who died were British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, whose parents were from Cork and Tipperary, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; his lawyer Chris Morvillo who represented him during a recent trial and his wife Neda Morvillo; Morgan Stanley International Bank chair Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer; and the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas.
A number of investigations were initiated, by the Italian authorities and by the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch - the yacht was registered in Britain.
Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, the company which builds yachts like the Bayesian, claimed the sinking was the result of human error.
In an interview with Sky News shortly after the incident, he said the yacht was probably hit by an intense downburst which is relatively frequent.
"There are a whole series of operations that highlight a chain of negative events that were negatively managed on board," he said.
Read the New York Times here
