The Baysian was a world class yacht.
The 19th largest yacht designed by Italian luxury manufacturer Perini, it boasted a sophisticated interior by French designer Remi Tessier, twin engines, and the tallest aluminium mast in the world. It won numerous awards, including “Best Sailing Yacht” in the year after its launch.
But just two weeks ago, on August 19, the luxury cruise ship sank off the coast of Sicily in a disaster that drew international attention, throwing 22 people on board overboard, killing seven, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
“The impossible happened with that ship,” Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the yacht manufacturer, told Reuters.
The disaster, coupled with ongoing investigations into possible criminal negligence by the Baysian’s crew and remaining questions about the vessel’s design, highlights the need for proper yacht safety measures and practical boat designs, experts say.
Italian prosecutors have expanded their investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing by the captain in the lead-up to the sinking to include two other crew members, judicial sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths are now under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck, days after news broke that investigators were looking into whether Captain James Cutfield committed the same crime.
Authorities are investigating whether marine engineer Parker Eaton failed to secure the ship’s engine room and operating systems. Officer Griffiths was on watch the morning the ship sank.
Cutfield’s lawyer, Giovanni Rizzuti, told Reuters his client “exercised his right to remain silent” when investigators questioned him on Tuesday.
“First of all, he’s very tired,” Rizzuti said. “Secondly, we were only appointed on Monday and in order to mount a thorough and accurate defense, we need to have a body of data available to us that is not available to us right now.”
Rizzuti did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from USA Today.
Rescuers found the bodies of Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morbillo and his wife Neda Morbillo, and Morgan Stanley International independent chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer on board two days after the sinking. The ship’s cook, Recardo Thomas, also known as Ricardo, was the first person confirmed to have died in the disaster, and his body was recovered on the day of the sinking.
Captains must follow safety procedures before a storm
Costantino attributed the ship’s fate to “a series of unspeakable and irrational mistakes” made by the crew, who he said made an “incredible mistake” by failing to adequately prepare for the storm.
Costantino said the crew should have called passengers out of their rooms sooner as the storm intensified. They should have lowered the keel, a heavy weight placed under the ship to balance the ship’s large mast, and closed the portholes – two factors experts say could influence whether the captain is held liable.
Ship captains should always check the weather forecast and study local weather patterns, maritime expert and captain Mitchell Stohler told USA Today, adding that in rough weather, captains should raise anchor to help the ship navigate choppy waters.
“In these situations, the standard response is generally to monitor the weather, stay vigilant, keep a night watch, start your engines and be ready to maneuver,” he said.
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Experts say wealthy customers are demanding impractical designs
Costantino said there were no errors in the design or construction of the vessel, but one yacht design expert disagrees.
“There are a lot of other factors, including the size and complexity of this ship,” said Tad Roberts, a British Columbia-based yacht designer who has worked in the industry for nearly 40 years.
The Baysian’s huge mast is part of a trend of yachts getting bigger and bigger, said Roberts, who helped design the 154-foot Asolare (formerly Scheherazade), which was the world’s largest cold-formed sailboat when it was launched in 2003, according to its manufacturer, Hodgdon Yacht Services. “They’re small now,” Roberts added.
Mr Roberts said problems arise when yacht designers find it difficult to say no to wealthy clients who want increasingly extravagant and extravagant designs.
“The customers are wealthy people. They’re used to getting whatever they want,” he said.
But the owner’s demands could compromise safety, he said.
“Owners are not naval architects,” he says. “They don’t understand the issues involved, and trying to explain them may or may not work, but there are compromises being made all the time.”
Yacht buyers are more likely to get a better vessel than they were 50 years ago because yachts are exported and built to international standards, he said. Still, the effects of climate change and worsening extreme weather events are increasing risks for everyone sailing the high seas, he added.
“Be careful, that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Things can go wrong and there are risks involved.”
Read more: Investigators try to determine why luxury superyacht ‘Bayesian’ sank in storm
Yacht owner installs multi-million dollar AI-powered security system
Piracy on yachts is even rarer than sudden storms, with just two incidents reported between 2019 and 2023, according to the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre. Still, superyacht owners are investing in James Bond-esque technology to protect their vessels.
“It’s definitely a growing concern,” said Frederic Giepmans, managing director of safety and security at MARSS, a technology company that provides high-tech surveillance and security systems for superyachts, with price tags ranging from “hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.”
According to the company’s website, NiDAR, a software program created by MARSS to ensure the safety of superyachts, can detect objects approaching the yacht from the air or water while underway, at anchor or in port.
The monitoring system uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to process data from sensors monitoring every aspect of the ship. The AI system “continuously monitors long distances in the air, on the surface and underwater, working to enable the crew to respond as quickly as possible,” Giepmans said.
This would allow yacht owners to detect anything approaching, from “small boats approaching at high speed on the surface” to divers and submarines underwater.
But if a threat is detected, yacht owners’ “options for response are limited,” Giepmans said. “You can get out of the way. You can get people to safety. But you can’t, for example, have a more militarized response.”
Giepmans noted there had been a recent increase in attacks on commercial shipping, including by Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea. “There is a gap in security,” he said, “because there is probably no way right now for commercial or private customers to respond appropriately to these threats.”
Owners of luxury yachts sailing off the coast of Monaco, for example, don’t have to worry as much about direct threats to their safety compared to vessels sailing elsewhere, he said. “It really depends on how far they’re willing to go to protect their vessel.”
As the Earth gets warmer every year, the dangers from severe weather could become even greater.
Meteorologists say a waterspout that formed at sea during the storm that struck the Baysian may have caused it to sink.
Water temperatures in the area that day were more than 3 degrees warmer than average, perfect conditions for the plume to form and likely the result of climate change, Rick Shema, a certified consulting meteorologist and former Navy officer, previously told USA Today.
“Water gushes out are a rare event, but these things can happen, especially when the water is warm,” he said.
Article contributed by Reuters
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Email her at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. Follow her at X @CybeleMO.
