Sunken Bayesian superyacht lifted from waters off Sicily as salvage operation completed
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Sunken Bayesian superyacht fully raised from waters off Sicily
The Bayesian sank August 19 off Porticello, near Palermo, during a violent storm. British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others died. Fifteen people survived, including the Kiwi captain and all crew members except the chef. British investigators said in an interim report last month that the yacht was knocked over by “extreme wind” and couldn’t recover. The Bayesian is missing its 72-metre mast, which was cut off 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.
The white top and blue hull of the 56-metre Bayesian, covered with algae and mud, was visibly clear of the sea in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge off the Sicilian port of Porticello.
“The hull of the superyacht Bayesian has today been successfully and safely recovered from the sea off the coast of northern Sicily,” said TMC Maritime, the company conducting the recovery. “This follows a delicate lifting procedure that began early today.”
TMC added that the hull will continue to be held “in an elevated position to allow expert salvage personnel to complete checks and preparations” ahead of its transportation into the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese on Sunday.
The floating crane platform will move the Bayesian to the port, where a special steel cradle is waiting for it.
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The vessel will then be made available for investigators to help determine the cause of the sinking.
The Bayesian sank August 19 off Porticello, near Palermo, during a violent storm as Lynch was treating friends to a cruise to celebrate his acquittal two months earlier in the US on fraud charges.
Lynch, his daughter and five others died. Fifteen people survived, including the Kiwi captain and all crew members except the chef.
Italian authorities are conducting a full criminal investigation.
The vessel has been slowly raised from the seabed, 50 metres down, over the past three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel.
Eight steel lifting straps were used to put the hull upright and to form part of a steel wire lifting system that began raising the vessel out of the water Saturday.
As the superyacht was raised, seawater was pumped out of the hull.
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The Bayesian is missing its 72-metre mast, which was cut off 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 raised.
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 said the crew of the Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms.
Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots at the time of the sinking and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.
Lynch, who sold Autonomy, a software maker he founded in 1996, to Hewlett-Packard for US$11 billion in 2011, had been acquitted on fraud charges in June 2024 by a federal court jury in San Francisco.
Additional reporting by 1News
Bayesian superyacht pulled from the depths 10 months after sinking off Sicily
British-flagged luxury superyacht that sank off Sicily last year, killing UK tech magnate Mike Lynch and six others, was lifted fully out of the water on Saturday afternoon. The white top and blue hull of the 56-metre (184-foot) Bayesian was covered with algae and mud, was visible clear of the sea in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge. The local coast guard said the lifting operation was concluded early afternoon (early Sunday morning AEST) and will be followed by some technical tests on the hull. The vessel will be transported to the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese, where it will be made available for investigators to help determine the cause of the sinking. The Bayesian sank August 19 off Porticello near Palermo during a violent storm as Lynch was treating friends to a cruise to celebrate his acquittal two months earlier in the US on fraud charges. British investigators said in an interim report issued last month that the yacht was knocked over by “extreme wind” and couldn’t recover.
The white top and blue hull of the 56-metre (184-foot) Bayesian was covered with algae and mud, was visible clear of the sea in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge, a witness said.
The local coast guard said the lifting operation was concluded early afternoon (early Sunday morning AEST) and will be followed by some technical tests on the hull.
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The hull of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Palermo, Sicily, on August 19, 2024, is pulled out of the sea and dewatered off the village of Porticello Saturday, June 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
On Sunday, the vessel will be transported to the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese, where it will be made available for investigators to help determine the cause of the sinking.
The Bayesian sank August 19 off Porticello near Palermo during a violent storm as Lynch was treating friends to a cruise to celebrate his acquittal two months earlier in the US on fraud charges.
Lynch, his daughter and five others died. Fifteen people survived, including the captain and all crew members except the chef.
The hull of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Palermo, Sicily, on August 19, 2024, is lifted by cranes during salvage operations off the village of Porticello Saturday, June 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Italian authorities are conducting a full criminal investigation.
TMC Maritime, which is conducting the recovery operation, said the vessel has been slowly raised from the seabed, 50 metres down, over the past three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel.
Eight steel lifting straps are being used to support the hull upright and to form part of a steel wire lifting system that began raising the vessel out of the water on Saturday. As it is lifted up, sea water is pumped out of the hull.
The hull of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Palermo, Sicily, on August 19, 2024, is pulled out of the sea and dewatered off the village of Porticello Saturday, June 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
TMC Maritime said the vessel will be held upright, out of the water, for checks and preparations for its final journey.
The floating crane platform will then move the Bayesian to Termini Imerese, where a special steel cradle is waiting for it.
What became visible for the first time on 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 hull of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Palermo, Sicily, on August 19, 2024, is lifted by cranes during salvage operations off the village of Porticello Saturday, June 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
When it resurfaced, the Bayesian was missing its 72-metre 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 56-metre (184-foot) British-flagged Bayesian was known for its single 75-metre mast, one of the world’s tallest made of aluminium. (Perini Navi)
The report said the Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms.
Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots (130km/h mph) at the time of the sinking and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.
Lynch, who sold Autonomy, a software maker he founded in 1996, to Hewlett-Packard for $US11 billion in 2011, had been acquitted on fraud charges in June 2024 by a federal court jury in San Francisco.