A fifth body has been brought to shore from the wreck of the “Bayesian” superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily early in the week, as the chief executive of the vessel’s manufacturer insisted it was fundamentally safe.
As investigators probe the cause of the wreck, the CEO of the firm that owns the vessel’s manufacturer said the Bayesian was “unsinkable.”
“Sailing ships, it is well known, are the safest in the most absolute sense,” Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, told Sky News in an interview. “First of all, because they have very little surface compared to a yacht facing into the wind. Second, with the structure of the drift keel, they become unsinkable bodies.”
Constantino said he was in a state of “sadness and disbelief” since learning that the Bayesian – built in 2008 by the Italian company Perini Navi, which was acquired by The Italian Sea Group in 2021 – sank early Monday.
The British-flagged vessel, carrying 22 people on board, rapidly sank after its mast, one of the world’s tallest, broke in half during a violent storm. Fifteen people were rescued on Monday and one body was recovered – thought to be that of the onboard chef Ricardo Thomas. Six others were initially reported missing.
The six individuals reported missing are British tech titan Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch; Morgan Stanley International director Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer; prominent American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Italian authorities are not yet disclosing the names of those whose bodies have been brought ashore. This is likely because in Italy, a person close to the deceased must formally identify the body, before a coroner or the prosecutor’s office confirms this.
Given that the sinking of the Bayesian is under criminal investigation, formal identifications will likely come from the prosecutor’s office. Italy’s civil protection agencies do not have the authority to confirm victims’ identities.
Since the boat sank, emergency crews have battled difficult conditions to enter the wreck, which is around 50 meters underwater (approximately 150 feet.) Divers have had around only 12 minutes to reach and explore the site before having to resurface.
Initial reports suggest a small waterspout, which developed over the area the boat was in Siciliy on Monday morning, could have been behind the yacht’s sinking.
Four days in, Italian authorities are still trying to understand how the 56-meter (184-foot) yacht sank so quickly. Separately, the United Kingdom’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has also opened an investigation, saying on Wednesday that it would deploy a team of four inspectors to Palermo to conduct a preliminary assessment of the scene.
CCTV shows footage of sinking
Waterspouts, a type of tornado, are spinning columns of air that form over water, or move from land out to water. They are often accompanied by high winds, high seas, hail and dangerous lightning. While they are most common over tropical oceans, they can form almost anywhere. Waterspouts in Sicily, however are rare.
Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, stressed that there was no indication that the design or construction of the boat was at fault in the ship’s sinking. “This episode sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact,” he said.
Unverified security camera footage released on Wednesday appears to have shown the moments that the tornado sank the yacht. As rain pelted down on the port, a grainy video shows the boat being battered by the storm, rocking violently from side to side before capsizing.
One witness, the owner of a villa looking out to where the Bayesian was anchored, said that after news of the sinking yacht emerged, he watched back his CCTV footage, where the boat could be seen sinking.
“In just 60 seconds, you can see the ship disappear,” he told Italian outlet ANSA. “You can see clearly what’s happening. There was nothing that could be done for the vessel. It disappeared in a very short time.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.