Sicily Yacht Sinking: Storm Winds Caused Sudden Capsize and Fatalities

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Answers surrounding the deadly sinking of a yacht in Italy are coming to the surface.

Approximately nine months following the tragic sinking of the Bayesian superyacht, which took the lives of seven individuals off the Sicilian coast, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) – a body that investigates marine accidents involving UK-owned vessels worldwide, as stated on their website – has disclosed some results from their examination.

Based on a report released by MAIB on May 15th, powerful, unexpected gusts from an approaching storm that struck at around 8:00 AM on August 19th caused the boat to lean and start taking on water. Despite the crew’s decision to anchor close to the Sicilian town of Porticello due to the anticipated storm, the document states that the dramatic rise in wind velocity eventually led to the boat overturning.

At 3 a.m., the winds from the approaching storm were measuring 8 knots, or about 9 miles per hour. By approximately 3:55 a.m., however, these winds picked up significantly to a speed of 30 knots, which is equivalent to 35 mph. As a result, the boat started dragging its anchor and began to tilt due to the stronger gusts.

Approximately at 4:06 in the morning, the wind unexpectedly surged beyond 70 knots (equivalent to 81 miles per hour), prompting an awning over the vessel to tear away from its left side and tumble toward the right. Consequently, the boat tilted a full 90 degrees, accomplishing this maneuver in less than 15 seconds. During this rapid shift, occupants, furniture, and unsecured items tumbled across the boat’s deck.

In the meantime, two passengers were forced to employ some chest drawers as a makeshift ladder within their cabin below deck in order to depart through the space. They exited by moving along the interior hallways and eventually emerged onto the main room or lounge area, according to the account.

Before that moment, “there was no sign of flooding within Bayesian,” but as water surged “over the rails on the right side,” it quickly seeped into the yacht’s interior areas, according to authorities.

Throughout the accident, several crew members worked together to pull passengers from the overturned boat, but unfortunately, as the boat kept going under, some passengers ended up in the water. Once they were in the water, a member of the crew ordered everyone present, both guests and fellow crew members, to swim away from the yacht.

With survivors congregating in the water, the ship’s head officer made his way and freed a liferaft from the rapidly sinking vessel. Just after 4:24 a.m., the band of survivors pumped up the liferaft and climbed aboard.

Approximately twenty minutes on, one team member ignited a signal flare overhead, which caught the attention of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, a vessel nearby. The fifteen survivors were subsequently saved by this ship.

Due to the unfortunate incident, it was regrettably confirmed that seven individuals aboard the vessel perished. These individuals included tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his spouse Judy Bloomer, passenger Christopher Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo, and the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas.

During their ongoing probe, the MAIB noted in their preliminary findings that there could be fresh information emerging which might modify the scenario presented in this report.

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2025-05-17 02:17