Lost Superyacht Bayesian Will be Raised This Weekend

 

The lost sailing yacht Bayesian is on track to be raised back to the surface this weekend, ending a complex salvage process that claimed the life of a diver last month. 

Bayesian suffered a knockdown and sank off Sicily in a severe squall in August 2024, claiming the lives of billionaire owner Mike Lynch, his daughter and five other people. A criminal investigation into the cause of the casualty is under way, and as part of that process, the vessel is being raised from the bottom at a cost of about $27 million. 

To bring Bayesian back up, salvors are using a crane barge, dive teams and ROVs. The team has passed slings underneath the vessel and plan to use this rigging to hoist the yacht to the surface as early as Saturday. 

The operation was expected to take longer, but when salvors removed the yacht's gigantic mast with a diamond wire cutting tool, the wreck  - which was resting on its side - rotated partly upright on its own. This made it easier to pass messenger lines under the hull and run through steel lifting slings to prepare for hoisting. 

Once the vessel has been hoisted out of the water, it will be delivered to nearby Termini Imerese and placed in a storage cradle. After it is drained, prosecutors and plaintiffs' attorneys will be able to inspect it. Among other details, the authorities will be looking at whether the vessel's hatches were closed before the sinking - which may have bearing on pending criminal cases against three crewmembers. 

The operation has been challenging - and tragic. Diver Rob Huijben lost his life during an operation to remove the yacht's boom, and officials suspect that a hydrogen explosion from an underwater cutting torch may be to blame. The fatality forced a one-week stand down, delaying operations and prompting salvors to use ROVs instead of divers where possible.