Work to salvage tech entrepreneur's sunken superyacht begins off Sicily

A 55-metre (180ft) barge carrying a heavy-lift crane has begun work to raise the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian from the seabed off Sicily, where it sank last summer killing seven people including the UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.

- Lorenzo Tondo

The barge, named Hebo-Lift 2, arrived last week in Porticello, a fishing port near Palermo, where marine salvage experts have started operations to raise Bayesian. It has a deck of 700 sq metres and is equipped with specialist diving apparatus and a remotely operated underwater vehicle.

On 19 August 2024, Bayesian, a 56-metre superyacht, was anchored just off Porticello when it was struck by a violent storm shortly before dawn and sank. Lynch, once described as Britain's Bill Gates, and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, were among the victims.

Morgan Stanley's international chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife, Judy, also died, along with the US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda, and the boat's chef Recaldo Thomas.

Fifteen people survived, including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, whose company owned Bayesian.