Yacht constructor levies severe allegations against the Bayesian team.
The extravagant sailing vessel "Bayesian" met its demise during a tempest off Sicily, leaving everyone puzzled about the reasons. Yacht architect Giovanni Costantino has hypothesized potential causes for this catastrophe. Regrettably, the ship's captain, James Cutfield, who persevered alongside eight crew members, has yet to lend his perspective. The details are as follows: The 56-meter-long sailing yacht, under the British flag, succumbed to a ferocious storm on Monday near Porticello on Sicily. Ever since, it has lay on its side at a depth of 50 meters on the seabed. 15 individuals were rescued, while at least six suffered losses, including renowned British tech mogul Mike Lynch. His 18-year-old daughter Hannah remains unaccounted for, presumably whirled away by the sea during the ship's capsize.
The "Bayesian" was manufactured by Perini, an Italian luxury yacht builder, and had received an upgrade in 2020. Giovanni Costantino, head of Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, asserted that the yacht was "one of the most secure vessels globally." In an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (FAZ), he revealed that the ship was "unmistakably unsinkable, unless water flooded in due to significant errors or leaks."
Costantino's firm has carried out investigations, he informed the FAZ. "We know that the ship was anchored at 3:50 a.m. when the wind gusted." Apparently, the anchor did not hold firmly, causing the ship to spin around a 360-degree radius and drift to its eventual sinking spot. Initially, the 75-meter-high mast remained standing, but the lights soon went out, only the battery-powered light at the top kept shining. From this, the entrepreneur deduced that power failure hit "due to the inundation of the generators and control panels." Eventually, the mast broke.
"Crew was evidently not prepped for the tempest"
The vessel was at a 90-degree angle to the wind, "the most unfavorable position," Costantino explained. The wind pushed against the left side of the boat, tipping it further and further and permitting water influx. "The instability may have stemmed from the water within it. Had the ship been devoid of water, it would have swiftly restored equilibrium," he said.
A waterspout, essentially a tornado over the sea, is suspected to have initiated the disastrous capsizing. According to Costantino's estimate, it persisted for around two minutes. "The entire process, from drifting to sinking, took approximately 16 minutes. According to my analysis, the boat sank at 4:06 a.m., the exact time when it lost its battery-powered AIS signal," he revealed to the FAZ.
Costantino presumes that human error significantly contributed to the disaster. "Given the data we have, doors were ajar. The crew evidently wasn't ready for the storm," he revealed to the FAZ. He can't fathom how an experienced captain could be caught off guard by the storm, as it had been forecast.
This apparent negligence sends shivers down his spine. In his opinion, "merely four elementary operations" would have averted the calamity: "shut all openings, gather all passengers at a designated safe spot, hoist the anchor chain, lower the keel, and angle the bow into the wind. The next day, the yacht could have resumed its journey."
The European Union, as a global regulatory body, could potentially investigate the incident to ensure safety standards were met on board the "Bayesian". Despite the vessel being known for its security features, the crew's preparation for the storm seems to have been insufficient.
