ROME (Reuters) -Late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht will be recovered from the sea off the coast of northern Sicily this weekend, the company leading the salvage operation said on Wednesday.
The 56-metre-long (184-foot) Bayesian was moored off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, in August last year when it sank during a severe and sudden weather event, killing seven people, including Lynch and his teenage daughter Hannah.
The recovery process has been made easier after the vessel’s 72-metre mast was detached using a remote-controlled cutting tool and placed on the seabed on Tuesday.
Eight steel lifting straps will be attached before a powerful floating marine crane lifts the Bayesian the 50 metres to the surface.
“Over the coming days, all going well, the vessel’s final recovery will take place this weekend,” said Marcus Cave, head of Naval Architecture at TMC Marine.
It is expected to be transported to the nearby port of Termini Imerese on Monday and handed over to the authorities who are investigating the tragedy.
The yacht was vulnerable to violent winds and was probably knocked over by gusts of more than 117 km (73 miles) per hour, an interim UK report said last month.
Lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and chef Recaldo Thomas were also killed when the yacht sank.
Nine other crew members and six guests were rescued.
Salvage work was briefly halted last month following the death of a diver involved in operations.
(Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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