A superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily last year, killing British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six others, will be raised next month after its mast is removed, sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.
The raising of the British-flagged Bayesian, lying on its starboard side in about 50 metres of water, could help explain why it sank in a sudden storm off the port of Porticello, near Palermo – an event that has puzzled naval experts.
The salvage operation will be carried out by a joint venture between Dutch companies HEBO Maritiemservice and Smit Salvage, said Italian officials, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
Neither company was available to comment.
The vessel, carrying the HEBO Lift 10 mega crane, has left the port of Rotterdam and is now heading towards the French Atlantic coast, one of the sources said, adding that it would take 10-12 days to reach Porticello.
There were 22 people on board the Bayesian, of whom 15 survived. Among the survivors were nine of the 10 crew members and Lynch's wife, whose company owned the Bayesian. Lynch's daughter was among the dead.
Italian prosecutors and the coast guard have chosen a recovery project led by TMC Marine Consultants Ltd. It involves lifting the 72-metre mast out of the water before the rest of the ship to protect the hull and any evidence.
Investigation into the death of Mike Lynch and other deaths… Read more
Other potential salvage plans, which included turning the 55.9-metre, 534-tonne yacht almost 90 degrees on the seabed without removing the mast, were rejected due to the complexity of the procedure.
Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, have opened an investigation into three crew members: Captain James Cutfield, ship's engineer Tim Parker Eaton and night watchman Matthew Griffiths.
They are suspected of manslaughter and causing a shipwreck.
Prosecutors said the Bayesian would have to be pulled out of the water before the investigation was completed.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
