Sunken superyacht lifted from waters off Sicily as crews complete salvage operation
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Sunken Bayesian superyacht lifted partially out of water in salvage operation
The luxury superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily in a sudden storm in August. Seven people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, died. salvage crews managed to lift it 50 meters (164 feet) from the seabed on Friday afternoon. The top of the hull was visible above the surface on Friday evening before being lowered below the waterline Friday evening. TMC Marine said it will be lifted fully out of the water on Saturday. The 56-meter (184-foot) supery yacht went down in less than a minute when hurricane-force winds swept through the area on August 19, 2024, killing all but one of the 15 people on board the vessel. The ship’s captain, James Cutfield, and two crew members are currently under investigation for their role in the deadly accident and investigators need to examine the ship to determine whether human error or a design flaw led to the sinking.
Ten months after the luxury superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily in a sudden storm, salvage crews managed to lift it 50 meters (164 feet) from the seabed on Friday afternoon, the company running the $30 million recovery operation said.
The superyacht was scheduled to be lifted at the weekend, but salvage crews from TMC Marine said the process went faster than anticipated.
The top of the hull was visible above the surface on Friday afternoon before being lowered below the waterline Friday evening. TMC Marine said it will be lifted fully out of the water on Saturday.
The 56-meter (184-foot) superyacht went down in less than a minute when hurricane-force winds swept through the area on August 19, 2024. Seven people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, died. Fifteen people survived, including Lynch’s wife, whose company owns the $40 million vessel, the ship’s captain and all but one crew member.
Floating crane ships HEBO LIFT 10 and HEBO LIFT 2 recover the “Bayesian” yacht on June 20, 2025. Igor Petyx/Reuters
A Dutch salvage worker also died in an underwater explosion when the salvage operation began in May, prompting the company to replace most of the human divers with underwater robots.
That change in strategy led to “accelerated progress” in the operation to attach the lifting straps to the hull, which was originally scheduled to finish by the end of the month, the company said.
Marcus Cave, head of naval architecture and a director of TMC Marine, said in a statement Friday: “The salvage team has made very substantive progress in the last 10 days. They are now preparing for the final, complex and delicate lifting operation, to bring Bayesian to the surface and ultimately into port.
“This is a challenging programme of activity, that will be progressed in a measured and systematic way.”
Earlier this week, salvage workers used a remote-controled, diamond-wire precision-cutting tool to remove the vessel’s 72-meter (236-foot) mast.
Once the mast was removed, the salvage company was able to finish attaching eight steel lifting slings to the hull, and partially parbuckled the ship to an upright position on the seabed.
Final stabilizers, hoses and other rigging were attached before the yacht was lifted by one of Europe’s most powerful floating cranes, which had been brought in for the job.
The Bayesian sank with 18,000 liters of fuel on board, which has not been removed. Oil booms were laid around the work site to protect the area from potential pollution.
On Friday afternoon, the top of the yacht, now covered in clay and algae, emerged out of the water. It is now being held in an upright position to allow water to drain out before it is taken to the Sicilian port of Termini Imerse on Monday.
There, it will be placed in a specially built steel cradle and sequestered while investigators carry out forensic investigations that may reveal the definitive cause of the accident.
The ship’s captain, James Cutfield, and two crew members are currently under investigation for their role in the deadly accident, and investigators need to examine the ship to determine whether human error or a design flaw led to the sinking.
They will also secure any possessions, including what are believed to be watertight safes in which Lynch kept encrypted hard drives.
Remote-controlled submersibles were previously used to recover the yacht’s anchor and boom, which were brought to the surface in May. An uninflated lifeboat and deck furniture have also already been recovered.
Lynch had organized the cruise to celebrate his acquittal in June 2024 on 15 felony charges in a United States court tied to the $11 billion sale of one of his companies to Hewlett-Packard.
His co-defendant, Stephen Chamberlain, also acquitted on all charges, died on the same day the Bayesian went down, two days after he was struck by a car while out jogging in the United Kingdom.
Superyacht that sank with British tech magnate Mike Lynch on board recovered by salvage crews
The Bayesian sank Aug. 19 off Porticello, near Palermo, during a violent storm. U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others died. Fifteen people survived, including the captain and all crew members except the chef. Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots, or 81 miles per hour, at the time of the sinking and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds, a British report said.. 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, British investigators said in an interim report issued last month. The Bayesian is missing its 236-foot mast, which was cut off and left on the seabed for future removal, the British report added. It’s far deeper than most recreational divers are certified for. One diver died during an earlier operation to raise the ship.
The white top and blue hull of the 184-foot Bayesian was visible on the surface but was not clear of the sea yet in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge.
“Pumping out of sea water will continue and it will be lunchtime, following a series of lifting and resting procedures to satisfy the salvage team, before Bayesian is fully and finally out of the water,” said David Wilson, spokesman for TMC Maritime, which is conducting the recovery operation.
The local coast guard said the lifting operation is expected to be concluded by the early afternoon and will be followed by some technical tests on the hull. 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 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. Salvatore Cavalli / AP
The Bayesian sank Aug. 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 U.S. on fraud charges. Lynch, his daughter and five others died. Fifteen people survived, including the captain and all crew members except the chef. One survivor reported holding her 1-year-old child above the waves.
Italian authorities are conducting a full criminal investigation.
TMC Maritime said the vessel has been slowly raised from the seabed, 165 feet down, over the past three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel. The depth of the wreck requires special precautions. It’s far deeper than most recreational divers are certified for. One diver died during an earlier operation to try and raise the ship. In the immediate aftermath of the sinking, recovery crews could only stay for 12-minute shifts. Specialized cave divers were used to help search the wreckage.
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 Saturday. As it is lifted up, sea water is pumped out of the hull.
TMC Maritime said the vessel will be held upright, out of the water, for checks and preparations for its final journey.
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. Salvatore Cavalli / AP
The floating crane platform will then move the Bayesian to Termini Imerese, where a special steel cradle is waiting for it.
The Bayesian is missing its 236-foot 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 Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms. Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots, or 81 miles per hour, at the time of the sinking and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.
Karsten Borner, the captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell that rescued the 15 survivors who managed to get into a lifeboat, said he was close enough to be able to see the Bayesian as the storm came in.
“A moment later, she was gone,” he said.
Lynch, who sold Autonomy, a software maker he founded in 1996, to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011, had been acquitted on fraud charges in June 2024 by a federal court jury in San Francisco.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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