Tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht is set to be lifted from the seabed in late June, the salvage team says, after debris from the boat was recovered.
Maritime and investigatory authorities in Sicily approved the final recovery plan following surveys of the seabed and wreck.
The stern section of the Bayesian will be temporarily lifted using Hebo Lift 10 — one of Europe’s most powerful sea cranes — allowing crews to attach the straps needed to raise the entire yacht later this month.
It was originally expected to be raised last month, but salvage efforts were delayed after a diver died during underwater work on May 9, prompting greater use of remote-controlled equipment.
To lift the 56-metre (184ft) vessel, eight steel straps will be attached beneath it, with four messenger lines already fed under the front.
The 72-metre mast will be removed using precision cutting tools, and the yacht will be rolled upright and lifted using a custom steel cable system.
A full underwater survey around the wreck using remote-operated equipment found 17 possible pieces of debris, including a life raft casing and deck furniture, which have been recovered and brought to nearby Termini Imerese – a town where Italian prosecutors investigating the sinking are based.
Marcus Cave of British firm TMC Marine, which is overseeing the salvage efforts, said: “Following detailed engineering assessment and discussions with the authorities, the works on site are now progressing towards the recovery of the wreck.
“The salvage teams will now hopefully be able to make more systematic progress in preparations for the ultimate safe recovery of Bayesian, whilst ensuring that the safety of those working on this very complex lifting and recovery operation and environmental protection continue to be prioritised.”
Billionaire Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among seven people who died when the Bayesian sank off the coast of the Italian island on August 19.
About 70 specialist personnel had been mobilised to the fishing village of Porticello from across Europe to work on the recovery operation, which began last month.
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, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals.
Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) investigators said in an interim report that the Bayesian was knocked over by “extreme wind”.
The yacht had a vulnerability to winds, but the owner and crew would not have known, the report said.
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.
Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued.
Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London, and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks in Kent.
The tycoon founded software giant Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared in June last year of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of the firm to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.
