Experts in marine salvage on Sunday began operations to retrieve the 56-metre British-flagged superyacht Bayesian from the seabed off the coast of Sicily, where it sank last summer.
UK tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, and five others were killed in the tragedy on 19 August.
The Italian coast guard confirmed its officers are supervising operations and patrolling the security perimeter created to ensure the safety of personnel working on the recovery.
“With the use of underwater operators and remote-controlled robots, ROVS (remotely operated vehicles), all operations will be carried out for about a week in preparation for the lifting of the vessel,” Italian Coast Guard Captain Nicola Silvestri said on Sunday.
‘Hebo Lift 10,’ one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe, docked on Saturday in the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in preparation for the operation.
With the assistance of another dozen marine and logistical specialists operating from shore, around 70 marine experts from Europe have been mobilised to Sicily for the operation.
According to Silvestri, the actual lifting that will bring the ship to the surface will occur in a second phase of operations.
For this to be effectively carried out, the yacht’s 75-metre aluminium mast, the second tallest in the world, will be cut to allow the hull, which lies 49 metres below the surface, to be brought back to the surface more easily.
The tragic sinking of the Bayesian
The Bayesian, a 473000 kg maxi yacht, sank after only sixteen minutes and shortly before dawn on 19 August last year.
The superyacht was anchored 300 metres from the small fishing port of Porticello, some 15 kilometres east of Palermo, Sicily, before tragedy struck.
Of the 12 passengers and 10 crew members aboard the Bayesian, only seven remained on the yacht as the vessel began to take on water.
Some 15 people managed to escape into a life raft with the help of nearby vessels. The remaining individuals failed to make it out of the doomed Bayesian luxury superyacht.
In addition to UK tech magnate Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, who died in the incident, Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, and the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, all died in the shipwreck.
After long and extensive search operations that lasted until 23 August, the bodies of six missing individuals were recovered. One body had earlier been recovered from the first emergency rescue operation following the yacht’s sinking.
Investigations into the cause of the sinking, including potential charges against the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility, are ongoing by Italian prosecutors.
