High compensation for the 15 survivors is at stake, as the Roman daily newspaper “La Repubblica” (Saturday edition) reported. The owner of the “Bayesian” is Lynch’s widow, Angela Bacares, who was able to save herself from the shipping accident. She lost not only her husband but also her 18-year-old daughter Hannah. The value of the “Bayesian” is estimated at around 30 million euros.
The owner may have been compensated herself
An insurance policy that Bacares took out with the Australian insurance company “British Marine” should cover the costs of salvaging the boat and any environmental damage, the newspaper reported. There are still 18,000 liters of fuel in the Bayesian’s tank. Bacares, who is also the managing director of the company based on the Isle of Man in whose name the “Bayesian” is registered, could also be compensated by the insurance company herself.
It has agreed to salvage the wreck. The shipping company “Camper & Nicholsons”, which operates the sunken yacht, is working on a salvage plan. This will be presented to the Italian authorities, who will have to approve it – which could take several weeks, Italian media reported.
Photo gallery: Difficult salvage work: Luxury yacht sunk off Palermo
(Photo: ALBERTO PIZZOLI (AFP)) Bild 1/18
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Investigations by the public prosecutor’s office are ongoing
The public prosecutor’s office in Sicily has opened an investigation into negligent homicide against the New Zealand captain and two crew members. The investigation is being carried out on suspicion of “negligent shipwreck and multiple negligent homicides”. The captain was questioned on Tuesday, but he refused to answer the prosecutors’ questions.
He left Italy on Thursday for Spain on a private jet. On Wednesday he was given a copy of the passport that was lost when the “Bayesian” sank. The two other crew members who are under investigation have also now left Italy.
Waterspout as probable cause
The sailing yacht “Bayesian”, which had ten crew members and twelve passengers on board, sank in a storm near Porticello off the coast of Palermo on the night of August 19th. The cause is believed to be a waterspout, a type of tornado. 15 passengers and crew members were rescued, but seven people lost their lives.
The victims include British billionaire Michael Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, as well as high-ranking manager of the investment bank Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Anne Elizabeth, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada, and the ship’s cook Thomas Recaldo. The autopsy of the victims’ bodies is underway.