The mishap log of the "Bayesian" How the "unsinkable" boat sank within 32 minutes
One week after the sinking of the superyacht "Bayesian", the Italian public prosecutor's office continues to puzzle over the background to the accident. How can an "unsinkable" ship disappear within 32 minutes?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The luxury yacht "Bayesian" sank unusually quickly on August 19 during a stormy night off Sicily.
- Seven of the 22 people on board lost their lives in the accident.
- Deadly squall: The Italian public prosecutor's office assumes that the accident was caused by a local weather phenomenon.
- It is still unclear how it was possible for water to enter the ship and why the crew was unable to react in time.
Porticello, Sicily, August 19, 2024
Shortly after 4 a.m., local fisherman Fabio Cefalù notices a tornado over the sea off the otherwise idyllic little coastal village in southern Italy in pouring rain and poor visibility.
Like everyone else, he decides not to go out on his boat that morning. He waits for the storm to pass. "The storm lasted about 12 minutes," Cefalù will later tell numerous journalists.
"Then I saw the distress rocket."
Cefalù immediately started the engine and rushed out to sea. "That was at 4.30 a.m., more or less" - around 300 meters off the coast, the "Bayesian" was in distress. But when the Sicilian fisherman arrives at the scene of the accident, the superyacht has disappeared without a trace. Only a few seat cushions, wooden planks and other utensils are floating in the water.
"We didn't see it coming"
An "unsinkable" 40-million-dollar yacht is swallowed up by the sea in a matter of minutes. How is this possible?
The investigation by the Italian public prosecutor's office in Porticello has been in full swing for a week. Together with the 15 survivors, the investigators are trying to reconstruct what happened on the "Bayesian" in the 32 minutes between the first intake of water and the firing of the distress rocket.
So far, two things have emerged: the yacht was probably hit by an extraordinary local weather event. And: something seems to have happened to allow large quantities of water to enter the ship, which according to the manufacturer was "unsinkable".
Images from a surveillance camera in the port of Porticello show the unusually rapid sinking of the yacht and also provide an insight into the stormy weather conditions that prevailed at the time.
"We didn't see it coming" was the only sentence uttered by James Cutfield, the New Zealand captain of the yacht, when he was taken to the emergency room immediately after the accident, according to the Italian media.
Since then, no quoted statements from the captain, the crew or the surviving guests are known. They have been completely shielded from journalists since the accident. The Italian investigators, on the other hand, have numerous questions.
Civil defense warned of "thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind"
What is curious is that the captain could not have been unaware that the weather conditions were deteriorating rapidly on that Sunday evening: In addition to the warning from the Italian Civil Protection, which announced "rainfall in the form of showers or thunderstorms" accompanied by "heavy rain, frequent electrical activity, localized hail and strong gusts of wind", there were several reports confirming the approach of a weather disturbance in the Porticello area.
However, Cutfield, who has been questioned twice so far, is said to have insisted that the crew were taken by surprise by the sudden storm. He said the captain "wasn't worried" despite the looming bad weather because there was no storm warning for Porticello.
According to investigators, in the case of the "Bayesian", a so-called "downburst" was responsible for the accident. This phenomenon usually occurs during thunderstorms and poses a danger to ships due to strongly accelerated downdrafts. The winds can reach the speed of a tornado.
Was a side hatch left open?
Further questions arise due to the short period of time in which the ship sank. "First the boat tipped on its side and within a few minutes it had sunk. It all happened very quickly," says Karsten Borner, the German captain of a ship that was nearby and came to the aid of the survivors.
Borner and his ship were also exposed to the storm, but were able to react in time. "There were very strong, hurricane-force gusts of wind. We tried to stabilize our boat by starting the engine and trying not to hit the bay," Borner told "Repubblica". "When the storm subsided, we realized that the boat had disappeared behind us."
The "Bayesian" was probably only able to sink so quickly because it took on a lot of water in a very short time. According to the manufacturer, the superyacht is actually "one of the safest ships in the world".
"Under extreme conditions, the boat can roll as much as it wants, but it won't sink," Franco Romani, an engineer who was involved in the construction of the "Bayesian", explains to the "Corriere della Sera".
His guess: the crew left the side hatch open, which is used to take the dinghy out and dive. "If you close everything, the water can't get in. But with the side hatch, there is a 60-centimeter gap."
Other experts speculate that a centerboard on the hull, which can be used to regulate the draft of the ship, may have been incorrectly adjusted. Another possibility is that the yacht was lifted by the storm, causing cracks to form in the hull.
"The victims were probably asleep"
Another question that the Italian public prosecutor's office is likely to ask itself is the composition of the survivors. How is it that only one of the ten crew members died, while six of the twelve passengers lost their lives? Were the crew already on deck when the storm hit and did they not alert those who were still asleep in their cabins?
According to Raffaele Cammarano, the public prosecutor in the case of the "Bayesian", this is a possible scenario. "The victims were probably asleep when it happened," says Cammarano. Why they were not woken and alerted is "exactly what we are trying to find out during the interrogations of the survivors".
The fact that no other ships in the vicinity were in serious distress also suggests a chain of errors that took place before and during the fateful 32 minutes on board the "Bayesian".
The public prosecutor's office has now opened proceedings against Captain Cutfield for shipwreck and multiple counts of negligent homicide. Further interviews are scheduled for Monday and next week. Investigators are also hoping to gain new insights from diving robots examining the wreck of the "Bayesian".
British billionaire Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, who died in the sinking of the "Bayesian". (archive picture)
Image: Uncredited/Lynch family via TANCREDI/AP
Investigators speak out after the sinking of the "Bayesian".
Image: dpa
Public prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano said at a press conference in Palermo: "It was a sudden, abrupt event."
Image: dpa
British billionaire Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, who died in the sinking of the "Bayesian". (archive picture)
Image: Uncredited/Lynch family via TANCREDI/AP
Investigators speak out after the sinking of the "Bayesian".
Image: dpa
Public prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano said at a press conference in Palermo: "It was a sudden, abrupt event."
Image: dpa
