TISG sues widow of Bayesian owner Lynch
The luxury yacht Bayesian. (Image courtesy of Perini Navi).
Bayesian builder The Italian Sea Group has reportedly filed a €456m lawsuit against the widow of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch who died along with six others when the yacht sank in a storm off Sicily in 2024.
The yachting company claims reputational damage has significantly affected the Perini Navi brand and its sales, arguing crew failures caused the tragedy.
The lawsuit is filed against Revtom Ltd, the holding company which owned the yacht and which is now controlled by Mr Lynch’s widow Angela Bacares.
It also names the yacht’s captain James Cutfield and two crew members.
The claim was filed in the town of Termini Imerese on the northern coast of Sicily, according to multiple reports.
Bayesian was at anchor in Sicily when the storm struck.
Bayesian capsized and sank in 16 minutes after it was hit by a violent storm with 100mph winds on the north coast of Sicily in the early hours of 19 August, 2024.
Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah died along with five other guests.
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.
In 2025, a Dutch diver also died during work to salvage the wreck of the Bayesian.
The tragedy 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) in May 2025.
Last year, TISG withdrew a similar lawsuit filed by a lawyer purporting to be acting on its behalf. The company claimed the lawsuit had been filed “without their knowledge and consent”.
In the immediate aftermath of the sinking, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of Perini Navi’s parent company 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”.
