DETAILS of the Bayesian yacht recovery mission have been revealed, as the mystery of the deadly disaster might finally be solved.
Seven people, including Brit billionaire Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, died after the yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a storm last year.
AlamyThe Hebo Lift 10 floating crane will help recover the Bayesian yacht[/caption]
�Jeff Brown – Breed MediaThe yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a storm on August 19 last year[/caption]
EPAMike Lynch and his daughter were among the seven people who died in the deadly sinking[/caption]
Now the wreckage of the sunken ship will be pulled from the sea bed in hopes to find more answers about the disaster.
The complex recovery mission will begin on Sunday with the help of high-tech tools including two floating cranes, laser drones and a giant saw, according to The Times.
The Hebo Lift 2 floating crane will be first on the scene – complete with diving equipment and a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
From there underwater laser drones will be launched.
The drones will carefully scan the yacht to confirm its exact position and also check it’s not leaking any fuel into the ocean.
Once an exact spot is confirmed the second floating crane – the Hebo Lift 10 – will arrive and station itself directly over the yacht.
The Hebo Lift 10 is one of Europe‘s largest floating cranes and weighs a whopping 5,695 tonnes.
The mega crane is expected to arrive around May 4.
Once in position a giant remote-controlled will be deployed to cut through the yacht’s 236ft-long mast.
About ten steel cables will then be threaded underneath the yacht to create a harness to raise it from the seabed.
From there the yacht will be hoisted to the surface in a complex procedure which will probably last two days.
The Hebo Lift 10 will then sail to the nearby port of Termini Imerese with the yacht in tow.
Meanwhile, salvage workers will check the sea bed for any parts of the yacht that may have become detached.
Once at the port the yacht will be carefully inspected by the magistrates investigating the case, with examinations of the yacht expected to take a few months.
The accident is being treated as suspected manslaughter and the New Zealander captain, James Cutfield, and two British crew members, Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths are all under investigation by the Italian authorities.
The Maritime Coastguard Agency is conducting an investigation into the tragedy alongside the Italian authorities.
Mark Cam, an inspector for the MCA, said “We are looking at whether there has been culpability in breaches of maritime legislation.”
Describing the investigation as “very much ongoing”, he added: “We have taken a number of witness statements and will be looking to take witness statements from the remaining crew members.
Cam said that MCA investigators hoped to examine the Bayesian when it was back on shore as it is a “primary” source of evidence.
He added that the MCA had already commissioned a report from the Meteorological Office into the weather at the time of the sinking.
Perini Navi company, which built the Bayesian Giovanni Costantino, previously branded the boat “unsinkable” and slammed the crew for making key “mistakes” and failing to “close the doors and hatches.”
A picture taken of the yacht just 14 minutes before it tragically sunk
Mr Costantino told The Sun in August: “Modern sailing ships, especially high-tech ones like the Perini, are designed to be extremely safe and stable.
“Even in very critical conditions, if procedures are followed, a sailing yacht like the Bayesian will return to an upright position.
“However, if the ship takes on water, this stability is compromised.
“Where the water entered will be determined by the investigators.
“What is certain is that the ship took on hundreds of thousands of litres of water.”
He added: “The crew did not handle the adverse weather conditions properly and did not follow the correct procedures to ensure safety.”
Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter were among the seven passengers who died when the 184ft yacht capsized and sank on August 19.
Anchored off the coast of Porticello Harbour in Palermo, a downburst of stormy winds hit the boat causing it to topple.
It sunk to the sea floor in minutes and prompted a huge five-day search operation with specialist divers, underwater drones and helicopters.
The yacht chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found dead near the wreck site on August 19, but it took several more days to recover six missing guests including Lynch and his daughter.
New York lawyer Chris Morvillo and wife Neda also died, as did Morgan Stanley international chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy.
Just two months before the disaster, Lynch had been cleared of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.
