Sailing yachts like Mike Lynch’s are ‘unsinkable’, claims CEO of company that builds them
21 August 2024, 22:57
Sailing yachts like the one belonging to Mike Lynch are “unsinkable”, according to the company that builds them.
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Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of The Italian Sea Group, rejected claims there were design flaws in the Bayesian superyacht, which tragically sunk off the coast of Sicily on Monday.
This comes after rescue teams discovered five bodies in the wreckage of the ship, as they continue to hunt for tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter.
"Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats], I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built," Costantino said.
"And as Perini is a sailing ship... sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever," he told Sky News.
He claims the yachts’ design makes the model "unsinkable bodies".
Five bodies, including a "heavily built man", were found on Wednesday afternoon in the search for the six missing passengers.
Six people were marked as missing after the Bayesian sank off the coast in Sicily early on Monday morning.
They were: British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, banker Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy Bloomer, lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Divers have been smashing their way into the wreckage in a bid to find them. Italian officials confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that five bodies had been found, without naming them. Four have been brought back to shore.
It means that six of 22 people who were onboard the yacht are confirmed to have died, after the body of chef Recaldo Thomas was found earlier.
Several media outlets have reported that Mr Lynch and Hannah have been identified among the people found, but this has not been confirmed by Italian authorities.
Sicily civil protection director-general Salvo Cocina said: "On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims and express our condolences to them at this difficult time."
The captain is recovering in hospital, and spoke for the first time since the wreck earlier this week.
Captain James Cutfield, 51, is a "well-respected" sailor and has worked on boats since he was a teen, his brother said.
