Photo: Perini Navi (Composite)
When the iconic Titanic set sail from Southampton on April 10, 1912, it was not only the “dream ship” with every imaginable luxury on board: it was “unsinkable.” The same happened to the 2008 sailing superyacht Bayesian, but both sank due to human error.
On August 19, in the early hours of the morning and while anchored off the coast of Palermo, Italy, the Bayesian was hit by a waterspout, a mini-tornado at sea that supposedly came out of nowhere, hit the ship hard, and sank it within minutes. Initial reports claimed that the ship’s 246-foot (75-meter) aluminum mainmast, once the world’s tallest, had snapped in the wind, but later video showed that it had remained intact and had ended up wedged on its starboard side in the wind.
Of the 22 people on board, 15 were rescued, including the wife of the owner, British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, once nicknamed “the British Bill Gates.” One person was confirmed dead immediately, and six others were still missing when we last covered the tragedy. All but one of those bodies were recovered from inside the hull.
Amid speculation about what might have caused an award-winning and highly praised sailing superyacht to sink at anchor, the CEO of The Italian Sea Group (TISG), which owns Perini Navi, has come forward to defend his vessels. In doing so, Giovanni Constantino is placing the blame squarely on the captain and crew, who should have taken steps to ensure the safety of guests and the vessel in the event of a storm.
Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images
For starters, the storm was predictable, Constantino tells an Italian news agency. The fishermen knew it was coming, since there were none around, so if they knew, how could a superyacht of this size not have been informed? Secondly, the Bayesian was designed to withstand extreme weather, even mini-tornadoes like this one, but only if the crew does their job, too.
Constantino believes that the crew left doors and hatches open with the storm brewing, which has been speculated about before. He also says that they should have herded guests on deck with the storm brewing and not let them go below deck to their cabins, where they would have eventually become trapped – “like mice in a trap” – and perish.
A ship like the Bayesian one can tip on its side in extreme weather conditions and bounce right back up again without any problems. If its stability is compromised, for example by water entering the hull, which would happen with the doors open, it will not return to its upright position. And Want sink, says Constantino.
Photo: Perini Navi
“Everything that has been done reveals a very long series of errors,” adds, emphasizing that the Bayesian was “one of the safest boats in the world” and virtually “unsinkable.” A similar vessel survived Category 5 Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he said.
Bayesian was a 56-metre (183-foot) Perini Navi sailing yacht, delivered in 2008 as the Salute. She had recently been refitted in 2020 and was valued at around $58 million. Camper & Nicholsons, the company that manages the superyacht, confirmed the tragedy, saying it was “due to bad weather.”