A Dutch diver who was working on preliminary operations to raise the late tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht, Bayesian, has died during underwater work off Sicily.
The Dutchman, 39, died on Friday while working on the tech tycoon’s sunken superyacht underwater. The cause of the diver’s death is still unconfirmed.
According to Italian news agency, AGI, the man may have been hit by a piece of metal as divers were cutting the boom from the wreck of the Bayesian.
The 184ft Bayesian British-flagged superyacht was moored off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, in August 2024 when it was hit by severe weather and sunk approximately 0.8 nautical miles off the coast, killing seven people, including Lynch and his daughter Hannah.
Bayesian superyacht recovery operation
The salvage operation is being led by TMC Marine, a UK-based consultancy, working on behalf of Bayesian’s insurer, British Marine. The salvage work is being carried out by a consortium of companies including Dutch companies Hebo Maritiemservice and Smit Salvage, both veterans of high-profile recoveries including the Ever Given in the Suez Canal and the Costa Concordia.
It is understood that the Dutch diver worked for Hebo. Salvage work on the Bayesian wreck has been suspended.
“This pause in activity is necessary for the investigations to be completed and to allow all salvage and associated teams to mourn the tragic loss of a highly respected salvage diver during yesterday’s underwater work,” TMC Marine said in a statement.
The attempt to lift the yacht off the seabed, as requested by Italian prosecutors, had been scheduled to take place in mid-May, with full clearance of the seabed and debris expected by the end of the month.
Sicilian prosecutors are treating the Bayesian sinking as a suspected case of manslaughter and negligent shipwreck. Three crew members, including New Zealand-born Captain James Cutfield and two British nationals, Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths, are under investigation.
The hull will provide crucial evidentiary material related to the cause of the sinking.
The total cost of the salvage operation is estimated at $30 million (£22.5 million), fully funded by the yacht’s insurers.