Salvage work on the doomed superyacht Bayesian continued on Saturday as the £30 million vessel continued to emerge from the sea.
Inch by inch the vessel’s once pristine blue hull could be seen more clearly as she was slowly lifted by a large marine crane from a depth of 160ft.
The 184ft yacht sank last August after being hit by a superstorm downburst in a tragedy that left seven people dead – including tech billionaire Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18.
On Saturday the bow of the Bayesian could be seen for the first time with no clear damage visible – unlike the stern where guardrails were clearly twisted.
Also revealed for the first time since it sank was the remnants of the stump of the Bayesian’s trademark 237ft mast which had been removed earlier in the week.
The huge lifting operation is due to be completed by 2pm today, with the maneuver incorporating thermal imaging cameras, drones and a fleet of boats. The mast is set to be raised by balloons in the coming days.
At a pre-inquest in April, lead investigation officer from the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency Mark Cam said the ship was ‘absolutely’ a ‘primary source of evidence’.
Officials from salvagers TMC Marine said it was the removal of the mast that had helped ‘accelerate’ the lifting operation which had begun two months ago.
Originally the lift was planned for mid-May but it was delayed for several weeks after a Dutch diver – involved in removing the mast – was killed in an accident still being investigated by prosecutors.
Then bad weather added to the hold up, plus there were problems fitting guidelines to the starboard stern of the Bayesian as she was lying on rock.
But, fortunately for the team, once the mast was removed this allowed her to shift slightly, making the task of slipping a series of eight cables under the hull easier.
Work progressed so quickly that the lift was brought forward by a day and the final stages are expected to be completed by mid morning.
Already by 8am much of the boat was out of the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean, in front of the fishing hamlet of Porticello on the Italian island of Sicily.
As part of the slow and delicate operation water could be seen pumped out of the Bayesian to lighten her and reduce the strain on the Hebo Lift 10 marine crane that was key to the salvage.
Captain Michele Maltese, coastguard director for Western Sicily, told MailOnline: ‘The lifting operation is scheduled to be over by 2pm this afternoon.
‘Our job is to secure the Bayesian and ensure there is no environmental impact from the fuel that is still in her tanks.
‘Thermal imaging cameras and drones are being used for this part of the operation, and we also have boats monitoring the area as there is still 18,000 litres of fuel onboard.
‘The mast is still on the seabed but that will be raised in the next day or so using balloons and taken to Termini Imerese where the Bayesian will also go.’
As he spoke a coastguard boat could be seen circling the Bayesian and onboard was local prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano, who is leading the investigation.
Lying on its side on the seabed, the ship was first righted and then lifted to the surface by eight metal straps, which had been moved under the hull and attached to the huge Hebo Lift 10 crane.
A bright yellow boom encircles the ship to prevent any fuel being leaked from the tanks.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into how Bayesian sank in just 16 minutes and three crew including the New Zealand captain James Cutfield.
This does not necessarily mean charges will follow.
Fifteen people survived the disaster, including the captain and all crew members except the chef.
Teenager Hannah was the last to be found, hidden behind a mattress below deck. She had won a place to do English Literature at Oxford and was due to start her studies when she returned from the trip.
Paying tribute, her heartbroken sister Esme paid tribute to a girl who was ‘endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.’
Her tech mogul father was the creator of software giant Autonomy and had just been cleared of carrying out a massive fraud related to its 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.
Close friend and colleague Andrew Kanter described Mr Lynch as ‘instantly inspiring’ and said ‘he will be sorely missed’.
Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy, 71, from Kent, were also among the seven who perished beneath the waves.
In a heart-wrenching tribute after last August’s tragedy, the family of the couple called the sinking an ‘unimaginable grief’, adding: ‘Our only comfort is that they are still together now.’
In a tragic turn, Mr Bloomer’s will later revealed that he had left his £6.6million fortune to his wife. In the case of her death, it was due to be passed on to his children.
The others who died, in addition to the four British nationals, were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel.
The death of the diver last month had paused the recovery operation for ten days.
A spokesman for TMC Maritime, conducting the recovery operation, had previously said the vessel has been slowly raised from the seabed, 165-feet down, over the past three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel.
What became visible for the first time Friday on the surface of the water was the top of the passenger area of the Bayesian where passengers would sit, known as the accommodation area, said a spokesman for TMC Maritime, David Wilson.
The estimated £20 million salvage operation has been hit by misfortune with the death of a diver last month and bad weather causing delays, adding to the fear among locals Bayesian was ‘cursed’.
A source with TMC Marine told MailOnline: ‘It was scheduled for Saturday but with the good weather and the accelerated progress things moved quickly on Friday and she was brought to the surface earlier than planned.
‘She will remain half submerged until Saturday when the final lift will take place and she will then be sailed to a specially built cradle on the dockside.’
