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What we understand about the sinking of the superyacht off Sicily

Six people are missing out on, consisting of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and a Morgan Stanley executive, someone is dead and there are 15 survivors following the sinking of a luxury yacht off the northern coast of Sicily.

Here is what we understand about the Aug. 19 mishap and what marine professionals are saying about what may have taken place.

STORM

The Bayesian, a British flagged 56-metre (184-feet). superyacht, sank in the dark quickly before 5 am (0300 GMT) off. the port of Porticello, near Palermo, after being hit by a. violent storm, the Italian coast guard said.

The coast guard said bad weather condition had actually been anticipated, but. included that it was more virulent than anticipated. Some residents spoke. of a waterspout, or sea whirlwind, of exceptional force. It was. an odd thing, angler Andrea Carini told Reuters. The. Bayesian was at anchor, its sails down, when the tempest hit,. with another private yacht moored close by.

THE OTHER BOAT

The neighboring yacht, the 42-metre Sir Robert Baden Powell,. stayed anchored and weathered the storm after its captain. turned on the engine to keep control of the vessel and prevent a. collision with the Bayesian.

The captain, Karsten Borner, said he did not understand if the. team of the Bayesian had handled to turn on its engines. I. do not think they did things incorrect, I believe they were shocked. by the power of the storm, he told Reuters.

I only understand that they went flat with the mast on the water. and that they sank in 2 minutes, he said, adding that the. storm was very violent, very extreme, bringing in a lot of. water and I think a turning system like a twister.

SPEEDY CAPSIZING

Andrea Ratti, a nautical style professor at Milan. Polytechnic university, said a boat the size of the Bayesian. might only sink so rapidly by taking in a huge amount of water. One can make plausible assumptions that leave space for doubt. about what occurred, he stated, recommending that a person or more. portholes, windows or other openings might have been broken or. smashed open by the waterspout, allowing water.

There has actually likewise been media speculation that a significant hatch. may have been inadvertently exposed.

Nevertheless, an industry professional in Britain said it should have. taken hours for the Bayesian to fill with adequate water to. sink it, making its quick death incomprehensible. I don't. believe the industry has ever faced anything like this. It's a. horror story, he stated, decreasing to be named.

Fire department scuba diver Marco Tilotta told Il Messaggero daily. the wreck was apparently intact, with no gashes, no indications of. effect. However, just one half of the hull shows up to. divers.

TALLEST MAST

The Bayesian was built in 2008 by Perini Navi, an Italian. luxury private yacht maker, and had won awards for its design. According. to Perini, it included the world's tallest aluminium mast,. determining 72 metres.

Ratti said an unusually high mast is not by itself an. component of vulnerability in a storm. A second expert, structural. engineer Filippo Mattioni, concurred, and also pointed to the. possibility of an open hatch allowing water. Both specialists. were sceptical about a broken mast, which could have triggered. major damage smashing versus the hull. If the mast had been. broken they wouldn't have capsized, captain Borner said.

RETRACTABLE KEEL

The Bayesian had a retractable keel - the fin-like structure. under the hull that helps stabilise boats and serves as a. counterweight to the mast. Both Ratti and Mattioni questioned if. the yacht had actually been anchored with the keel up, lowering its depth. under water from around 10 to 4 metres, making it less stable. Ratti said the boat may have started oscillating extremely, like. a pendulum, under strong winds, putting remarkable stress on. the mast. However even if this had actually led to its breaking, this by. itself is insufficient to justify the sinking, he stated.

INVESTIGATION

Prosecutors in the close-by town of Termini Imerese have. opened an investigation into the disaster. Their case is most likely. to take months to complete.

(source: Reuters)