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Superyacht Recovery Halted After Diver’s Death: Sicilian Tragedy Continues
Efforts to salvage a superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily last year, resulting in the deaths of a British tech executive and six others, were paused on Saturday following the death of a specialized diver. This latest incident casts a shadow over the already tragic event, raising questions about the safety of the recovery operation for the sunken yacht.
Recovery Operation Suspended
The deceased diver was part of a team attempting to raise the 185-foot “Bayesian” yacht. The yacht was capsized by a sudden storm in August of the previous year while anchored near Porticello, close to Palermo.
The vessel sank rapidly, reportedly after being struck by what witnesses described as a mini-tornado. This catastrophic event claimed the lives of several prominent individuals, including:
- British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch
- His teenage daughter
- Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer
- His wife, Judy
- U.S. lawyer Chris Morvillo
- His wife, Neda Morvillo
- The yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas
Fifteen individuals managed to escape using a lifeboat, including a one-year-old child and Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares.
Investigation Launched into Diver’s Death
Following the diver’s death, authorities have suspended the operation to raise the sunken superyacht. Italian media reports that prosecutors initiated an investigation on Friday into the death of the 39-year-old diver.
Details of the Underwater Work
Initial reports indicate the diver was part of a team focused on cutting and removing the 75-meter mast. This was planned as the first step in recovering the yacht, which currently rests on its side at a depth of approximately 50 meters.
TMC Marine’s Response
TMC Marine, the British company contracted to salvage the luxury yacht, has not yet responded to requests for further details. However, news outlets have reported that TMC Marine issued a statement on Friday, pledging full cooperation with the investigation. The company stated that “the circumstances of the accident are currently being investigated by the authorities.”
The operation to retrieve the yacht commenced the previous week, with the Italian coastguard estimating a completion timeframe of up to 25 days.
Ongoing Inquests and Investigations
Separate inquests are currently underway in Ipswich, eastern England, to examine the deaths of the four British victims of the yacht sinking.
In Italy, prosecutors in Termini Imerese have initiated investigations into the yacht’s captain and three other individuals, focusing on potential charges of manslaughter and negligent shipwreck.
Lynch, 59, the founder of the software company Autonomy, had invited friends and family onboard the “Bayesian” to celebrate his recent acquittal in a high-profile U.S. fraud case.
Remembering Mike Lynch: A Profile
Mike Lynch, once celebrated as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” distinguished himself in the late 1990s by developing Autonomy, a software firm that enabled businesses to swiftly locate information within email and other digital documents. In 2011, Lynch sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion, earning him $800 million and solidifying his position as one of the U.K.’s wealthiest individuals.
However, the acquisition was later deemed one of the “most notorious failed mergers and acquisitions” after HP discovered alleged accounting irregularities, leading to Lynch’s termination by HP’s then-CEO, Meg Whitman. HP alleged that Autonomy had manipulated its accounting practices to inflate its financial performance prior to the acquisition, accusations that Lynch vehemently denied.
The ensuing legal battle lasted 12 years, culminating in a federal court jury in San Francisco delivering not-guilty verdicts in June 2024.
Lynch’s Early Career
Lynch, who held a PhD in mathematical computing from Cambridge University, initially co-founded Cambridge Neurodynamics, focusing on pattern recognition technology. The company applied this technology to fingerprint and license plate identification, according to a 1997 article in The Guardian.
Subsequently, Lynch co-founded Autonomy in 1996, leveraging a statistical model known as Bayesian inference, named after the 18th-century statistician Thomas Bayes. (Lynch’s yacht was aptly named “Bayesian.”)
The company tapped into the increasing demand from businesses to efficiently sort and retrieve information from the growing volumes of data generated by computers and digital documents.
Autonomy’s consistent growth during its first decade led to Lynch receiving one of the U.K.’s highest honors, the Office of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2006.
In a 1997 interview with The Guardian, Lynch noted the skepticism surrounding the potential for a successful tech company to emerge from the U.K.
He recounted, “I have actually heard the comment, ‘England, software? I thought you made bone china.'”