Bayesian research focuses on a retractable keel

The Italian judicial authorities are currently investigating the extent to which the updrawn 60-tonne keel of the superyacht Bayesian played a role in the vessel’s sinking off the coast of Sicily in 2024.

The investigation is focusing on the role of three crew members: skipper James Cutfield, engineer Tim Parker Eaton and the deckhand on watch on that fateful night, Matthew Griffiths.

The question is what effect the failure to lower the keel had during the storm, which was accompanied by a mini-tornado that caused the vessel to capsize within a matter of minutes. Seven people lost their lives, including the British businessman and charterer of the yacht, Mike Lynch, and his daughter Hannah.

The yacht was owned by Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares. The ship’s builder, Perini Navi, filed a claim for 535 million dollars against her in January this year. The crew are alleged to have acted improperly, causing the yacht to sink and inflicting enormous damage on Perini Navi’s reputation. Perini Navi has also filed a claim against the New York Times seeking a huge amount in damages. No details are known regarding the exact sum involved.

Manslaughter

Prosecutor Angelo Vittorio Cavallo says he is investigating whether the three suspects can be charged with multiple counts of manslaughter. Antonio Scamardella, professor of architecture and ship statics at the University of Naples, and Alberto Marinò, professor of shipbuilding at the University of Trieste, are assisting with the investigation. The third man is naval architect Alessandro Biriaco.

When the Bayesian was salvaged in June 2025 by salvage teams from Hebo and Smit, the keel protruded four metres below the ship. Had the keel been fully lowered, this would have been ten metres. The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Termini Imerese, the port where the Bayesian is moored, has until February to complete the investigation.

Source: an article by Willem de Niet in *De Schuttevaer* (for subscribers only).
Photo: TMC Marine.

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