Bayesian: ‘Vulnerabilities’ in stability an issue
The luxury yacht Bayesian. (Image courtesy of Perini Navi).
The sinking of the Bayesian was due in part to extreme winds and “vulnerabilities” in the yacht’s stability, according to an interim report by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).
Seven lives were lost when the 56m yacht, built by Perini Navi, sank 0.5 nautical miles south east of Porticello on the north coast of Sicily, Italy in the early hours of 19 August 2024 amid a storm with winds of more than 70 knots.
The report suggests that in the assumed loss condition, winds of more than 63.4 knots would have been sufficient to knock the yacht over. It also said Bayesian was possibly vulnerable to knockdown in winds below that strength. Once the yacht had heeled beyond an angle of 70.6° – the angle of vanishing stability – it was “irrecoverable”, it added. Those “vulnerabilities” were not contained in the stability information book carried on board, meaning the captain or crew may not have been aware.
The report said that at 0406 on 19 August, Bayesian “violently heeled over to 90° to starboard, taking less than 15 seconds to do so. People, furniture and loose items fell across the deck”. Shortly after, water came over the starboard rails and Bayesian started to sink .
Bayesian at anchor the night it sank off Sicily in August 2024. Photo: Karsten Börner, skipper of Sir Robert Baden Powell.
‘Unsinkable’
“The interim report presents a desktop study of the facts as we know them,” said Andrew Moll, chief inspector of Marine Accidents, MAIB.
“The study has reviewed the yacht’s stability, the likely local weather conditions at the time, and the effect of that weather on the yacht. The results will be refined as the investigation proceeds, and more information becomes available.”
There were 12 guests and 10 crew on board.
Among those who lost their lives were British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, the yacht’s owner, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
The other victims were Recaldo Thomas, the ship’s chef, Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International bank, and his wife Judy Bloomer, Chris Morvillo, a Clifford Chance lawyer, and his wife Neda Morvillo.
Earlier this month a Dutch diver also died during work to salvage the wreck of the Bayesian.
READ: TISG reiterates ‘unsinkability’, takes legal action
In the immediate aftermath of the sinking, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of Perini Navi’s parent company The Italian Sea Group (TISG) drew criticism by claiming the boat was “unsinkable”.
In November 2024, TISG announced a lawsuit against the New York Times, refuting eight points it made in an October 2024 article and saying it “firmly reiterates the unsinkability of the Bayesian sailing yacht, if properly sailed and operated”.
Under the Italian criminal probe, New Zealand skipper James Cutfield, as well as two British crewmembers, Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths, are being investigated for potential manslaughter and causing a shipwreck.
According to the Italian legal system, this does not imply guilt and does not necessarily mean charges will be brought.
