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Video: Bayesian Superyacht Lifted to Surface in Ongoing Operation

Bayesian sailing yacht
Bayesian (file image courtesy Perini Navi)

Published Jun 20, 2025 3:07 PM by The Maritime Executive


The sailing yacht Bayesian reached the surface on Friday afternoon, June 20, ten months after it was lost claiming the lives of seven passengers including billionaire tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter. It was the first phase of a complex salvage operation that will resume on Saturday and is expected to be completed by Monday when the salvage team will hand the vessel over to investigators.

The salvage company TMC described the complex operation which has been ongoing all week using sophisticated remote vehicles and two of the heaviest lifting capacity cranes in Europe. They were working on the yacht which was upright but at an angle approximately 50 meters (165 feet) below the surface near the fishing port of Porticello, Italy. The yacht had anchored for the night of August 19, 2024, with a forecast of thunderstorms in the region.

TMC reports a specialized remote-controlled, diamond-wire precision-cutting tool was used earlier this week to remove the vessel’s mast. It stood 72 meters (236 feet) from the waterline and would have made it impossible to bring the hull up on an even keel. The mast was lowered to the seafloor for later recovery. 

 

 

Eight steel lifting straps were strung below the hull which measures 56 meters (184 feet) with four near the bow and four near the stern. They are using a combination of straps, a sling, and a harness to recover the vessel. TMC reports the lifting process began three days ago. Two heavy lift cranes, Hebo Lift 10 and Hebo Lift 2, were positioned on each side of the wreck.

Around 1 p.m. local time the upper portion of the accommodations came out of the water. The lifting was paused at this point. The Italian Navy and Coast Guard were on hand observing and ensuring that no onlookers approached the site. TMC explains they were inspecting the hull, and it must reinforce and increase the harnesses before the next phase of the operation. In addition to the yacht which is reported to weigh about 550 tons, there are still 18,000 liters of fuel aboard as well as the weight of the water inside the hull.

 

 

The next phase is scheduled to start at dawn on Saturday and weather permitting the vessel will be fully lifted and transferred to Hebo Lift 10. The crane barge is scheduled to depart on Sunday and arrive on Monday in the port of Termini Imerese, Sicily. On Monday, they plan to lift the hull into a specially built steel cradle that has been prepared on the dock in Sicily. 

Investigators are anxious to begin reviewing key points that are believed to have contributed to the sinking. They will be trying to determine the position of access doors and others that could have hastened the sinking if they had been left open. They are also looking to determine the position of the sailing yacht’s retractable keel. Investigators want to know if it was raised or lowered as it would have also affected stability and the ability to withstand the sudden winds which are believed to have caused the vessel to roll onto its side. They want to know why the yacht rolled and why it did not recover.

The prosecutors in the Palermo suburb are investigating the captain, engineering officer, and watchman. They have been charged with multiple counts of manslaughter for the seven deaths as well as negligence contributing to the shipwreck.

A second investigation is underway for the death of a diver working at the site in May. Three people from the salvage company SMIT are being investigated on allegations that workplace safety rules were violated.

After completing the removal of the Bayesian, teams will return to the site to recover the mast and other debris on the seafloor.