Salvage teams have managed to raise a British superyacht which capsized and sank 10 months ago off the coast of Sicily during a storm.
The white top and blue hull of the 56-metre (184ft) Bayesian emerged from the depths of the sea for the first time since the tragedy last August which claimed seven lives, including tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter.
TMC Maritime, which is conducting the recovery operation, said the vessel has been slowly raised from the seabed, 50 metres (165ft) down, over the past three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel.
On Friday, the top of the passenger area – where the accommodation was located – became visible above the water.
Captain Nick Sloane, who was behind the salvage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in 2014, told Sky News’s Ashna Hurynag this recovery operation will be a complex process.
He said: “When they do that initial lift, they’ll stabilise it just off the seabed and they’ll do a double inspection to make sure that all the rigging points where the recovery straps are placed are in the right place.”
Captain Sloane said experts will inspect the base for other damage, remove water from internal spaces and preserve any evidence for investigators, but he added that ultimately, salvage teams will treat the yacht “as a graveyard”.
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“It’s a very high-profile recovery because of the incident and the personalities that were lost in the tragedy,” he said.
The British-flagged luxury superyacht sank on 19 August 2024 off Porticello near Palermo during a violent storm, killing the boat’s owner Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others.
Fifteen people survived, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, the captain and all crew members except the chef.
Work began in May to recover the ship, with pieces of wreckage being pulled from the water, although progress has been hampered after a diver died last month during salvage efforts.
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When the Bayesian resurfaced, the vessel was missing its 72-metre (236ft) mast, which was cut down and left on the seabed for future removal.
The mast had to be detached to allow the hull to be brought to a nearly upright position that would allow the craft to be surfaced, TMC Maritime said earlier this week.
Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, who were all British nationals.
The others who died in the sinking were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel.
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UK investigators issued an interim report in May which said the yacht was knocked over by “extreme wind” and could not recover.
The report stated that the Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms.
Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots (81mph) at the time of the sinking and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.
Mr Lynch had been celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with his family and the people who had defended him at trial.
