What happened to the Bayesian superyacht? New report to reveal sinking findings

Yahoo

14-05-2025

A highly anticipated report is expected to lay out the causes behind the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht that resulted in the deaths of seven people.
The 56-metre British-flagged vessel sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm in August last year.
Among those who died were British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his teenage daughter Hannah.
The tragedy, which unfolded near the fishing village of Porticello, has raised questions about the yacht's rapid sinking and the factors that led to its sinking.
The upcoming report is expected to shed light on the causes of the disaster, offering potential answers to the families of victims – as well as perhaps offering lessons into how such a tragedy might be avoided in the future.
The Bayesian was anchored approximately metres off Porticello, Sicily, when it was struck by a powerful storm, described as a waterspout or downburst, in the early hours of 19 August last year.
The yacht, renowned for its 75-metre aluminium mast – one of the tallest in the world – capsized and sank in just 16 minutes, lying 49 metres below the surface.
Eyewitnesses, including Karsten Borner, captain of a nearby vessel, reported the yacht's mast bending and snapping under the storm's ferocity, with the vessel disappearing in just 16 minutes.
Rescue efforts began immediately, with 15 of the 22 passengers and crew escaping on an inflatable life raft, aided by Borner's crew and other nearby vessels.
Divers from Italy's fire and rescue service faced significant challenges, navigating a wreckage clogged with debris at a depth that limited their time underwater to eight minutes per dive.
By 23 August, four days after the yacht sunk, all seven bodies of the victims were recovered, with four found to have died of asphyxiation in air pockets within the yacht, suggesting they survived the initial sinking but died later.
Italian prosecutors are investigating the yacht's captain, James Cutfield, and two crew members – engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith – for potential charges of manslaughter and culpable shipwreck.
Speculation has centred on whether the crew ignored weather warnings or failed to secure hatches and doors, allowing water to flood the vessel.
The sinking claimed seven lives. Among them was Mike Lynch, a British tech entrepreneur once described as 'Britain's Bill Gates' and known for founding software giant Autonomy in 1996.
He sold Autonomy to US company Hewlett Packard for £8.6bn in 2011 and went on trial last year in San Francisco over a fraud charges related to the sale, but was found not guilty on all counts.
His 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, also died in the sinking. She was a former pupil of Latymer Upper School and had been offered a place at the Oxford University.
The five other victims were:
Jonathan Bloomer, 70, chairman of Morgan Stanley Bank International and of the Hiscox international insurance group.
Judy Bloomer, 71, Mr Bloomer's wife, who was called a "brilliant champion for women's health" by gynaecological cancer research charity the Eve Appeal, where she has been a trustee for more than 20 years.
Chris Morvillo, 59, a US lawyer with Clifford Chance, who had represented Mike Lynch in a recent trial.
Neda Morvillo, a US jewellery designer and Mr Morvillo's wife.
Recaldo Thomas, the yacht's Canadian-Antiguan chef, whose body was found floating near the wreck shortly after the sinking.Watch: Experts start complex recovery of Mike Lynch superyacht that sank off Italy