Efforts are due to begin this week to lift the 56-metre (184ft superyacht Bayesian from the seabed off the Sicilian coast, following its sinking with the loss of seven lives last August.
Italian newspapers have billed it as a media spectacle, with a headline in daily newspaper La Repubblica translating as: “Bayesian Recovery Sold Out: Over 500 guests in hotels and B&Bs”.
Sicilian prosecutors are still treating the accident as suspected manslaughter and are investigating the yacht’s skipper and two crew.
Seven people died and 15 survived when the yacht sank during a storm off the Sicilian coast on August 19th last.
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.
As The Times UK reports, the salvage could take up to month to complete, with first checks to ensure the yacht has not shifted since its sinking and that it is not leaking fuel.
First, salvage workers will use an undersea drone with laser scanners to establish the exact position of the Bayesian, ensuring it has not shifted since it sank. Further checks will be made to ensure the vessel is not leaking its 18,000 litres of fuel.
Two large barges have been hired for the operation, along with a tug. One of the barges has one of Europe’s largest floating cranes owned by Dutch company, Hebo Maritiemservice.
The Times reports that the first task for salvage workers will be to cut off the yacht’s 72-metre mast — one of the world’s tallest — using a remotely controlled saw.
Up to ten steel cables attached to the floating crane will then be secured underneath the yacht to create a harness to raise it, having first righted it.
This could take up to two days, weather permitting, and the suspended yacht will then be taken by the crane to the port of Termini Imerese, almost 25 km from Porticello.
It will be landed on the quayside in a securely fenced area for inspection as part of the ongoing investigations, including one by the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
The salvage operation is being run by the London-based marine consultancy TMC Marine, which was appointed by the Bayesian’s insurer, British Marine.
Onsite work is being carried out by Hebo and another Dutch company, Smit Salvage, with support from Italian specialists, who have all signed non-disclosure agreements, the Times says.
Read The Times here (paywall in place)
