Uncertainty over how long it will take to retrieve shipwreck, officials say

The timing of the recovery of the wreckage of a luxury yacht from the bottom of the sea is uncertain and depends on many factors, Italian officials have said.

The Bayesian superyacht was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at about 5am local time on Monday, killing seven people, after being struck by a powerful type of wind called a downburst.

Maritime director of western Sicily, Rear Admiral Raffaele Macauda, said: “I can’t say how long it will take before we can recover the vessel.”

He added: “Among other things, we will need to empty the yacht’s tanks to prevent any environmental contamination.”

He was speaking during a press conference in Italy – where a shipwreck and manslaughter investigation was announced and details of how the authorities intend to proceed was outlined.

The shipwreck is now “50 metres down” and there is no current retrieval timeframe, although some experts have estimated it could take eight weeks.

The Rear Admiral, who stressed that recovering the fuel tanks is a “priority for us because it has environmental knock-on effects”, said: “We’re talking about a shipwreck at 50 metres down.

“Everything depends on the availability of the owners and the timeframe of the retrieval of the wreck and of course all that has to be submitted to the port authorities and in parallel of course there will be the inquiry results and it’s only really then that we will be able to authorise the operation.

“I can’t say, like some experts who have already spoken on the subject, that it will be eight weeks.

“But the preliminary phase which we requested was to retrieve the wreck and after that we can proceed with the rest.

“There are specialised companies after all who can proceed with getting up the fuel tanks, for example, first, so that’s a priority for us because it has environmental knock-on effects and then we’ll work out a proper timeframe – a plan with a timeframe.”

The owners will “bear the full cost of the retrieval” of the wreckage, according to the Rear Admiral who could not estimate the final bill.

It is hoped the retrieval will throw light on key lines of inquiry such including the types of safety equipment on board, such as a black box, and if the hatches were left open.

Raffaele Cammarano, the prosecutor in the case, told the press conference: “We haven’t got exact information about the black box.

“It was extremely difficult to get inside some of the cabins and the yacht itself.

“The first phase of this inquiry will certainly concentrate on confirming the presence of such things and the retrieval of the bodies.

“We can’t reply with any certainty about that yet.”

He added: “We can’t reveal anything at this stage but the facts will be confirmed by the later search amongst the wreckage.”