Washington [US], May 16: The owner and crew of a luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, killing tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six others, were unaware wind speeds of over 73mph could tip it over, according to an interim report.
Modelling commissioned after the disaster indicates gusts of that speed hitting the side of the Bayesian, when it had its sails down and centreboard up, would "likely result" in its capsize.
The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), leading the international investigation, said winds of over 80mph "violently" hit the vessel, causing it to flood within seconds. It sank near the town Porticello on August 19 last year during freak weather, with reports of water spouts.
Seven of the 22 people onboard were killed, including Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. Investigators say the yacht was knocked to a 90-degree angle within 15 seconds at 04:06am local time, causing people, furniture and loose items to fall across the deck.
"There was no indication of flooding inside Bayesian until water came in over the starboard rails and, within seconds, entered the internal spaces down the stairwells," the report says.
The MAIB's chief inspector of marine accidents Andrew Moll said the situation was "irrecoverable" once the yacht tilted beyond 70 degrees.
The yacht had its sails down and centreboard up when it sank. The MAIB commissioned modelling from the University of Southampton to examine the stability of the yacht in these conditions.
It indicated that - if the wind was blowing directly across the beam, or side, of the boat - wind speeds in excess of 73mph were sufficient to tip the boat over and "it is possible" the yacht was similarly vulnerable to lower wind speeds, the MAIB said. But this information was not included in the onboard stability information book and "consequently, these vulnerabilities were also unknown to either the owner or the crew of Bayesian", the report found. (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune
