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Maritime experts say investigations may, in time, reveal what led to the catastrophic sinking of the Bayesian superyacht, but in the meantime, mariners are pointing at some of its unique features that could’ve been a factor in its demise.

Andrea Ratti, a nautical design professor at Milan Polytechnic University, told Reuters that a boat the size of the Bayesian could only sink so rapidly by taking in a huge amount of water.

He suggested that one or more portholes, windows or other openings may have been broken or smashed open by the waterspout, letting in water. There has also been media speculation that a major hatch might have been inadvertently left open.

Grainy footage from CCTV cameras on the shore showed the Bayesian’s mast fall just before it disappeared, and as the Bayesian was anchored and stationary, it likely made it more vulnerable to the storm that has been described as a waterspout or tornado.

But a second expert says it’s “highly unlikely” that the broken mast would have caused the boat to sink. Structural engineer Filippo Mattioni also believes the unusually tall mast is “not by itself an element of vulnerability in a storm”.

With divers confirming that the wreck was “apparently intact,” with “no gashes, no signs of impact”, the answer to why it sank might be in some other part of the ship’s design.

The Bayesian was built in 2008 by Italian luxury yacht maker Perini Navi and features a retractable keel — the fin-like structure under the hull that helps stabilize boats and acts as a counterweight to the mast. Marine engineers are now wondering if the yacht had been anchored with the keel up, reducing the vessel’s depth underwater and making it less stable.

Landlubbers can see how this works in the video below.

Ratti believes that with the keel retracted, strong winds might have caused the boat to start oscillating wildly, “like a pendulum,” putting exceptional strain on the mast and causing it to break. This point is further emphasised by the fact that the sails on the mast were retracted, and the wind alone would have had little impact on the mast without its massive sails.

Experts however suggest that the broken mast might have increased the stability of the rolling yacht, which makes it unlikely to have caused the rapid sinking.

Another possible cause might be the anchor, with Ratti noting that in such fierce winds, the anchor might have dragged. In such a case, the standard advice is to steer towards the anchor, raise it and head out to deeper water to ride out the storm. Experts however believe that the boat might have been unable to do so, leading to the anchor “controlling the bow of the ship”.

For a more detailed look at the possible causes of the sinking, and what exactly the normal procedure is in a situation like that, the below video by eSysman Superyachts goes into more detail.

[source:cbc]