Shipbuilder Files £400 Million Lawsuit Against Owner Of Lost Superyacht Bayesian That Claimed 7 Lives

The Italian Sea Group (TISG), the builder of the superyacht Bayesian, has filed a £400 million lawsuit against the yacht’s owner, skipper and two crew members following the vessel’s sinking off Sicily in August 2024, which resulted in seven deaths, including British billionaire Mike Lynch and his daughter.

The lawsuit has been filed in Termini Imerese, Sicily, and names Revtom, the Isle of Man-based company that owned Bayesian and is now controlled by Lynch’s widow, Angela Bacares.

The claim also includes skipper James Cutfield and crew members Timothy Eaton and Matthew Griffiths. All three are also under criminal investigation by Italian prosecutors.

TISG has maintained that the sinking was caused by crew negligence and operational failures rather than any fault in the yacht’s design or construction.

The company has stated that no design issues contributed to the loss of the vessel.

Statements attributed to TISG’s majority owner, Giovanni Costantino, indicate that the yacht was considered unsinkable and that safety procedures were not properly followed.

He has alleged that doors and portholes were not secured and that weather warnings were ignored.

He has also pointed out that the yacht took around 16 minutes to sink, which he believes should have allowed time for those on board to be rescued.

TISG has claimed that the sinking caused serious financial damage to the Perini Navi brand, which built Bayesian before being acquired by TISG in 2021.

The company has said it has not sold any new Perini Navi yachts since the incident and has suffered lost profits, a decline in share value and missed business opportunities.

One example cited was a fashion brand that reportedly withdrew plans to work with the company following the sinking.

Findings from the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have highlighted stability vulnerabilities in Bayesian that were not known to the owner or crew at the time of the accident.

MAIB stated that computer modelling and analysis carried out with marine engineering experts from the University of Southampton showed that the yacht, in its operating condition at the time, could capsize in wind speeds above 63.4 knots when hit on the beam.

UK Met Office simulations suggested that the thunderstorm in the area may have produced surface winds exceeding 87 knots.

The investigation also found that the yacht’s unusually tall mast contributed around 50 per cent of the heeling force during the incident.

MAIB noted that these risks applied when the vessel was motoring with sails lowered, the centreboard raised and consumables at about 10 per cent.

According to MAIB, these vulnerabilities were not included in the stability information booklet carried on board, meaning the owner and crew were unaware of them.

The agency added that its findings were issued for safety purposes only, did not assign blame and were not intended for use in legal proceedings.

A source close to the Lynch family has criticised the lawsuit, describing it as opportunistic and suggesting it was intended to divert attention from issues raised by the MAIB investigation.

The source said the UK investigation had identified unresolved questions about the yacht’s design, stability and operating characteristics.

Bayesian sank on August 19, 2024, off the coast of the Sicilian fishing village of Porticello after being struck by a powerful thunderstorm.

Winds were reported to have reached up to 100 mph, causing the yacht to heel sharply to around 90 degrees in less than 15 seconds. The vessel sank within 16 minutes.

Those who lost their lives included Mike Lynch, 59, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda.

Survivors were rescued by the nearby yacht Sir Robert Baden Powell.

An eighth death occurred months later when a Dutch diver was killed during a £20 million salvage operation to recover the wreck.

This is not the first legal claim linked to the sinking. In September 2024, TISG dismissed a lawyer who had filed a separate £186 million lawsuit against Lynch’s widow, stating that the case had been filed without the company’s knowledge or consent and was later withdrawn.

References: Daily Mail, britbrief

Source: Maritime Shipping News