More Signs Point to Human Error, Not Global Warming, in Sicilian Superyacht Sinking

Before the dust had settled — and before all presumed victims had been recovered — press organizaitons were quick to link the sinking on Monday of a superyacht that was moored off the coast of Sicily on global warming. Despite those attempts, by Friday it appeared increasingly likely that the principal culprit in the capsizing of the Bayesian, which has so far claimed six lives, was not climate change but human error. Italian officials do believe that a sudden, pre-dawn storm that included a waterspout triggered the sequence of events that led to the sinking of the luxury ship, which was crewed by 10 people and had 12 passengers on board. On Wednesday divers recovered five bodies from the capsized ship. On Thursday they recovered the body of 59-year-old British billionaire high-tech businessman, Mike Lynch. The owner of the yacht, Angela Bacares, survived. Ms. Bacares was Mr. Lynch’s wife.Sky News reported that some of the victims were found in their cabins.Still missing as of Friday were six people including Mr. Lynch’s 18-year–old daughter Hannah; Morgan Stanley’s international chairman, Jonathan Bloomer; and Mr. Bloomer’s wife, Judy.Closed-circuit video footage obtained from a bar on shore showed fierce winds buffeting the Bayesian and its signature mast, which at 237 feet long was said to be the world’s second tallest mast. By the end of that video, less than two minutes long, the mast is no longer visible and the ship appears to have sunk. It is now sitting on its side on the seabed 164 feet below the surface of the water.Italian yacht manufacturer Perini Navi built the 183-foot, $39 million British-flagged vessel in 2008. The chief executive of Italian Sea Group, which includes Perini Navi, put the blame for the ship’s capsizing squarely on the crew. Giovanni Costantino told Reuters that crew members made the “incredible mistake” of not being prepared for Monday’s storm, which was included in the relevant shipping forecasts. “The boat suffered a series of indescribable, unreasonable errors. The impossible happened on that boat … but it went down because it took on water. From where, the investigators will tell,” Mr. Costantino said.Prosecutors in Italy are even investigating potential manslaughter charges relating to the superyacht’s sinking.By Mr. Costantino’s reckoning, with severe thunderstorms about to bear down on the port of Porticello, located east of Palermo on Sicily’s north coast, the passengers should have been summoned from their cabins to assemble at a designated safety point. Crew should have pulled up the ship’s anchor and “doors and hatches should have been closed, and the keel should have been lowered to increase stability, among other safety measures,” he said. Mr. Constantino told Reuters that the Bayesian had plied the waters for more than 16 years without incident and had encountered weather that was more severe than the storm that moved eastward across the Mediterranean Sea earlier this week. Nevertheless, news organizations including CNN and the Guardian have made much of a statement by the head of the Italian Meteorological Society to the effect that higher than normal sea temperatures can bring “an enormous quantity of energy” for storms. The waters of the Mediterranean around Sicily are now hovering around 86 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about three degrees above average. However, it is widely known that Italy, surrounded by the sea on three sides, is prone to severe summer storms. This summer torrential rains have impacted northern Italy, but August in southern Italy is widely known for its thunderstorm activity. As Italian investigators continue to probe exactly why and how the sleek yacht sank so rapidly, the inclement weather at the time will undoubtedly play a role — as will the crew’s response to it, or lack thereof. Palermo Today reported that the Italian prosecutor’s office is now reviewing the actions of the ship’s captain, 51-year-old James Cutfield, as well as first officer, Matthew Griffith, 22. Mr. Cutfield was already grilled this week by local police for two hours, according to other Italian reports.

More Signs Point to Human Error, Not Global Warming, in Sicilian Superyacht Sinking

More Signs Point to Human Error, Not Global Warming, in Sicilian Superyacht Sinking

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