Yacht tragedy ‘could have been averted had one factor been finished in another way’

The sunken Bayesian superyacht tragedy “may have been avoided” if one key structural device had been deployed, according to an expert.

The 56-metre Bayesian sank in a severe storm in the early hours of Monday (August 19) off the coast of Sicily, Italy, with five bodies recovered by divers on Wednesday afternoon. One of these was confirmed as British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, with his daughter Hannah, 18, still missing.

The aftermath has seen experts theorise on what happened before the “freak” tornado sent the superyacht toppling into the Mediterranean. Karsten Borner, 69, the skipper of a nearby vessel that was first to assist the wreckage, said: “I have never seen a vessel of this size go down so quickly. Within a few minutes, there was nothing left.”

READ MORE: Mike Lynch yacht horror caught on CCTV as doomed Bayesian engulfed in storm

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Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, superyacht designer Steve Kozloff said it was “incalculably rare” for a boat of that size to go down so quickly. The expert claimed there might have been a specific structural issue that contributed to the tragedy, and if avoided might well have saved lives.

“The boat was fitted with a lifting keel. This is a metal ‘rod’ underneath the yacht that, if fully extended and thrust deep below the waves, keeps the boat from toppling over,” Kozloff said. “They may have had the keel up for comfort – if it’s a short keel that means the boat would rock more pleasantly.”

He added: “If the keel is down, it’s pretty much guaranteed not to tip over. I don’t think the captain had anything to do with it – I don’t want to play a blame game here.

“So possibly the keel could have been partially up – and then this freak Wizard of Oz storm comes along and takes the boat right over. There could have been some portholes open or something and she could have taken on water really quick.”

Kozloff also claimed the guests – Mike Lynch and his friends – aboard the yacht may have been in the “wrong place, wrong time”.

“Possibly people were below deck when it all kicked off – which is not a good place to be. They probably didn’t really pay attention to where the exits are,” he said. “You know, if you’re on a flight, they give the whole spiel about safety – it’s the same for a superyacht and most people just don’t listen to them.”

Rescuers are working on the assumption the Bayesian yacht sank rapidly after being hit by a tornadic waterspout.

“I am incredulous about what happened to a yacht like this,” said sailor Gabriele Bruni, speaking to Italian publication La Repubblica. “If they had asked me that night, in a stormy day, in which sailboat in the world I would have wanted to be, I would have chosen the Bayesian.”