Bayesian superyacht sinking: Safes on tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken boat ‘may contain intelligence service data’

Responding to claims that the Italian Sea Group is looking to sue for damages, a spokesperson said: “With reference to the recent inquiries, we deny that TISG will seek any damages. The Italian Sea Group (TISG), through its legal representative Giovanni Costantino, strongly denies the claims published yesterday....regarding a legal action following the Bayesian tragedy.

“While TISG has given a general mandate to the lawyers named in the article, no legal representative of the company has examined, signed, or authorized any lawsuit.

“The company firmly distances itself from the published information and reserves the right to protect its interests through all legal channels.”

The company that built the Bayesian yacht appeared to intend to sue the boat’s crew and Mike Lynch’s widow, court papers showed.

The Italian Sea Group (TISG) filed papers in a Sicilian court, arguing the tragic incident may have caused reputational damage and loss of earnings, The Times report.

It planned on suing the crew and Mike Lynch’s widow, Angela, for £186 million.

However, after reports emerged of the company lawyer, Tommaso Bertuccelli, pursuing the claim, TISG strongly denied they were pursuing court action.

It said: “The Italian Sea Group … strongly denies the claims published in La Nazione regarding a legal action following the Bayesian tragedy. Although TISG has given a generic mandate to the lawyers named in the article, no legal representative of the company has examined, signed or authorised any writ of summons.”

With the Bayesian lying on her side 50 metres underneath the now gentle waters of the Mediterranean, mystery still surrounds how the 56-metre superyacht sank in the typhoon off the port of Porticello.

Remotely controlled underwater vehicles and cave divers are looking to raise the yacht, which experts will examine in the coming days.

Barney Davis reports here:

A report has emerged classified intelligence information possibly sitting 50 metres deep in the Bayesian superyacht.

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who died in the sunken yacht, was known to have links with intelligence services around the world, including British and American.

This link partly came from his cybersecurity firm Darktrace, which he founded in 2011 in partnership with former UK intelligence officials, Politico report.

Co-founder Stephen Huxter became managing director of the company. He previously ranked highly in MI5’s cyber defense team.

Darktrace is used to fight off cyberattacks, by learning the behavioural patterns of actors in an organisation and detecting any unusual activity.

Former MI5 chief Jonathan Evans sat on the company onboard, and Jim Penrose, who worked on the US National Security Agency, led the company’s operation in America.

A number of other intelligence figures were also involved. with Darktrace.

Lynch also had other ventures which were linked with spy agencies. Cambridge Neurodynamics, a company specialising in fingerprint recognition for computers, was contracted by UK intelligence services.

Divers have requested heightened security after finding watertight safes which may contain highly classified information, sources told CNN.

Authorities confirmed that they are seeking heightened security, with sources suggesting confidential intelligence information on the boat may be of interest to Russia and China.

An official working with the team salvaging the boat said the vessel is believed to contain watertight safes with two super-encrypted hard drives, CNN reports.

Francesco Venuto of the Sicilian Civil Protection Agency told CNN: “A formal request has been accepted and implemented for additional security of the wreckage until it can be raised.”

Prosecutors are investigating the captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the sinking.

Mr Cutfield is under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges. Tim Parker Eaton — the engineer who was in charge of securing the yacht’s engine room — and sailor Matthew Griffith — who was on watch duty on the night of the disaster — are now under investigation for the same possible charges, their lawyer said.

Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, who is heading the investigation, has said his team will consider each possible element of responsibility including those of the captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision and the yacht’s manufacturer.

Investigators are focusing on how a sailing vessel deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed. They added raising the Bayesian and examining the yacht for evidence would provide key elements to the investigation.

Maritime director of western Sicily, Rear Admiral Raffaele Macauda of the coastguard, could not confirm how long it would take to retrieve the shipwreck of the sunken yacht, adding recovering the fuel tanks was a “priority for us because it has environmental knock-on effects”.

Work to recover the superyacht begins with 200m red zone established off Porticello

TMC Marine, a company specialising in “planning and executing high-risk maritime operations and investigating and resolving serious maritime incidents and disputes” have arrived in Porticello.

The delicate operation could cost as much as £15 million to raise the Bayesian superyacht will require barges with cranes as the locals complain about the impact.

“When will the recovery be carried out?” one fisherman asked workers according to La Repubblica.

“For us,” added another, “it is better that these operations end as soon as possible.”

He pointed towards a 200m radius which is still forbidden to sail on and is constantly monitored by the coast guard.

“The community is preparing for the feast of the Madonna del Lume,” added a nearby bar worker referencing an upcoming October holiday.

“That day the painting of the Madonna, symbol of the village, will be carried out of the church, passing through the hands of the faithful, and then hundreds of boats will pour into the sea.”

Autopsies have been carried out on a couple who drowned on Mike Lynch’s superyacht when it sank off the coast of Sicily last month.

Seven lives were lost when the British-flagged boat, called the Bayesian, went down in a freak storm while anchored near the Sicilian capital of Palermo on 19 August.

The bodies of Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, 18, and the other victims of the Bayesian disaster have been flown back to their families after their post-mortems, according to reports.

They were repatriated on private planes, with their private funerals expected to be held over the coming days, Italian media reports.

The British tech tycoon’s boat had been moored near the port of Porticello on 19 August when it sank during the early hours of the morning. It is now lying 50m below the surface.

Among those killed were Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, who had been due to begin studying at Oxford University in September, as well as four other family friends and associates.

Jonathan Bloomer, the international chairman of Morgan Stanley Bank; his wife Judith, a psychotherapist; Christopher Morvillo, a US lawyer; and his wife Neda, a jewellery designer also died in the sinking.

Also killed was the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, whose body was recovered floating near the wreckage.

Italian Navy divers have recovered video surveillance equipment from the wreckage of billionaire Mike Lynch’s Bayesian superyacht that could explain how it sank.

The British tech tycoon’s boat had been moored near the port of Porticello on 19 August when it sank during the early hours of the morning. It is now lying 50m below the surface.

Among those killed were Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, who had been due to begin studying at Oxford University in September, as well as four other family friends and associates.