“He was taken out alongside his colleague who was killed in a car crash days earlier,” reads one of many comments pondering the possibility of a conspiracy surrounding the sinking of the Bayesian, a $33 million superyacht, on the coast of Italy last Monday (August 19).

The incident occurred while British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was celebrating his acquittal in a US fraud trial alongside his wife, his 18-year-old daughter, his lawyer Christopher Morvillo, and his wife Judy, Morgan Stanley’s Chairman Jonathan Bloom and his wife Neda, and fifteen other passengers.

Theorists argue that the death of Stephen Chamberlain, co-defendant of Lynch in his trial, who perished after being struck by a vehicle while jogging in Cambridgeshire last Saturday (August 17) is connected to the tragedy.

The main points of suspicion are the unprecedented nature of the mast of the Bayesian, which made it the only yacht to sink in the disaster; the fact that no one was able to predict the intensity of the coming storm, which puzzled ship experts; and finally, the fact that out of the 22 passengers of the vessel, only Lynch’s inner circle is missing, while the other 15 passengers survived.

Conspiracy theories surface in the aftermath of the Bayesian sinking as authorities launch an investigation to find the bodies of tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his inner circle

Image credits: wikimedia

Authorities are currently investigating the reasons behind the accident, as well as undergoing rescue operations to retrieve the remains of the six individuals missing in the aftermath of the event, who they believe are still trapped inside the vessel.

Out of Lynch’s friends and family, only his wife, Angela Bacares, is confirmed to have survived.

Described by some as the “British Bill Gates,” Mike Lynch was the co-founder of the software company Autonomy, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP) in October 2011 for $11.7 billion.

Image credits: Dan Kitwood/Getty

In May 2012, senior members at HP launched an internal investigation that revealed what they referred to as “serious accounting improprieties, misrepresentation, and disclosure failures at Autonomy prior to its acquisition.”

In March 2015, HP proceeded to sue Mike Lynch for $5.1 billion in the UK’s High Court, accusing him of inflating Autonomy’s revenues by $700 million.

The case dragged on for almost 10 years, with the UK court ruling in favor of HP in 2022, finding that Mike Lynch had fraudulently inflated Autonomy’s value.

In June 2024, a year after Lynch had been extradited to the US to face charges, the Federal Court of San Francisco declared Lynch not guilty of fifteen counts of wire fraud, saving him from the possibility of facing up to 25 years in prison.

The victory was in no small part thanks to the efforts of his defendants, Christopher Morvillo and Stephen Chamberlain. The former went missing on board the Bayesian, and the latter was run over by a car.

The yacht was equipped with an unprecedented 75-meter mast, which experts believe was instrumental in its downfall

Image credits: John Li/Gett

The vessel was anchored close to the coast, at 300 meters of Porticello, when it was hit by a waterspout created by a heavy thunderstorm that took place near Palermo at around five in the morning.

The yacht, which had ten crew members and twelve passengers aboard, was a 56-meter long top-of-the-line “pleasure vessel,” and it was strangely equipped with the world’s tallest aluminum mast at 75 meters. 

Experts suggest that the massive structure may have played a crucial role in the vessel’s rapid descent to the seabed.

Image credits: clifford chance

According to Gino Ciriaci, a nautical expert and technical consultant, the mast broke during a waterspout, causing a domino effect that ended with the entire vehicle capsizing.

The weight of the fallen structure pushed the hull past its “down-flooding angle,” leading to its sinking. Ciriaci also explained that the force with which the Bayesian was hit was so strong that no matter what material the mast was made of, it would’ve been broken either way.

In contrast, the Sir Robert, a nearby Dutch sailing ship, was anchored just meters away from the Bayesian and managed to escape from the storm unharmed, with all of its fifteen passengers safe.

Image credits: Cambs police

Karsten Börner, captain of the Dutch vessel, reveals that “it all happened in really little time” and that the Bayesian sank in “a few minutes” after it was hit.

Borner and his team were instrumental in the rescue of the survivors of the tragedy.

“The storm was over. We noticed that the ship behind us was gone,” he recounted in an interview with the BBC. “And then we saw a red flare, so my first mate and I went to the position and we found this life raft drifting with fifteen people inside.”

“We brought them to our ship, and then we communicated with the Coast Guard. Then after some time, the Coast Guard came, and later they picked the injured people up.”

Boating experts were shocked as the weather forecast given to the captain of the vessel indicated a “light offshore breeze” the day of the tragedy, far from the violent storm that took place

Image credits: @Khorakhane100

Waterspout captured in Leuca, Apulia, Italy on August 19, 2024.pic.twitter.com/82cwBJdsjv

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 20, 2024

Aug 19: Four British nationals are missing after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily

The 50-metre boat, which is called the “Bayesian”, sank at around 5am in the stretch of sea in front of Porticello in the province of Palermo

Date: 19/8/2024 = 1:8:8 = 17 (Q)

Bayesian
⚡️125… pic.twitter.com/zQJ7hvSLx0

— Codey369 (@Codeym369) August 19, 2024

Re: yacht tragedy in Sicily.

As the human mind is drawn to, ‘what are the chances”, it’s jarring to see the yacht was named Bayesian; had a 75 foot mast that was possibly the longest Aluminum one in the world; & experienced a rare storm event (possibly waterspout/tornado). pic.twitter.com/1Gzvfsq0OG

— Carlos E Alvarez, PhD (@CarlosEAlvare17) August 19, 2024

🇬🇧🇮🇹 British tech magnate Mike Lynch has gone missing after the superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily.

Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife are among those missing in the yacht crash off the coast of Italy.

The vessel was caught in a… pic.twitter.com/n2A3Wn1LcU

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) August 20, 2024

@independent CCTV footage posted on Facebook shows the storm that blew through parts of Sicily overnight on Sunday and Monday, before a yacht carrying British tourists capsized off Palermo. At least one person is known to have died and seven are missing after the British-flagged vessel – named by the coast guard as the Bayesian – capsized and sank at about 5am on Monday 19 August. #fyp #fy #trending #tiktok ♬ original sound – Independent

@markhemmings53 #usa #accidents #drowning #sailing #pleabargaining #autonomy #italy #bayesian #mikelynch ♬ original sound – Mark Hemmings

The yacht’s trajectory took it from the coastal village of Cefalù all the way to Porticello, where it had been anchored offshore. It was then that it got hit by a freak waterspout triggered by severe storms.

“There were weather warnings out that evening for intense thunderstorms. They are still incredibly rare weather events,” explained Matthew Shank, chairman of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council.

“It was unprecedented,” he continued, arguing that under any other circumstances, the boat should’ve been able to withstand the weather.

Image credits: @MyLordBebo

“I’ve never heard of a 56-meter boat being sunk like this,” said the editor-in-chief of Boat International, Stewart Campbell, in an interview with the BBC.

“This is a supremely well-made and capable trans-oceanic vessel. They are designed to withstand extreme weather.”

“This particular event was clearly so violent, sudden and unforecasted that the captain had no way of knowing what was going to happen,” he explained. “The forecast was of a light offshore breeze.”

“None of my colleagues in the industry expected this. They are all as shocked as I am,” Campbell stated.

Netizens suspect an “inside job” as they congregate to share their own theories on the events surrounding the sinking of the Bayesian

Image credits: Harvey Clements

Across all social media platforms, readers have been sharing their theories surrounding the tragedy.

Some more outlandish users are even calculating esoteric numerical values to try and decipher some “secret conspiracy” code that might explain the events.

Others point to the death of Stephen Chamberlain as one of the more suspicious aspects of the story, talking about a secret “revenge” being responsible for the accident.

“Important to note, his former VP of finance and co-defendant in the US trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died 2 days before, after being hit by a car while on his morning jog. Is it a coincidence? What are the odds?!” argued one user on X.

“Coincidence? Not really. Not when Stephen Chamberlain, the co-defendant in the US trial of Mike Lynch, was killed at the weekend after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire. Things happen for a reason,” explained another.

“I think his win against the US authorities was too much for them to stomach. Mike said that, without his significant wealth, he wouldn’t be able to navigate the legal system. They wanted revenge,” replied one reader.

“Inside job” Theorists continue to discuss the true nature of the events leading up to the accident, as the investigation progresses

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