"Everything that was done reveals a very long series of errors. People shouldn't have been in the cabins, the boat shouldn't have been at anchor. And then why didn't the crew know about the incoming storm ? The passengers reported something absurd, that is, that the storm arrived unexpectedly, suddenly. It's not true. It was all predictable . I have the weather maps here in front of me." Thus, in an interview with Corriere della Sera, Giovanni Costantino, founder and CEO of The Italian Sea Group , the listed company that owns the assets of Perini Navi of Viareggio that built the Bayesian in 2008.
Costantino does not want to see that sailing jewel that he defines as " one of the safest boats in the world " under accusation. Practically " unsinkable ". " Unless it takes on water," he says. "There is no other explanation . Certainly the Palermo event would have represented a zero risk if the correct maneuvers had been carried out and if situations had not occurred that compromised the stability of the ship."
Yesterday, divers identified the bodies of five missing people, the last one, that of the tycoon Mike Lynch, brought to shore this morning : they were in the cabins of the vessel that sank at a depth of 50 metres, hidden behind mattresses and furnishings of all kinds.
The body of the seventh missing person was identified today .
The official toll of the tragedy is therefore seven victims and 15 survivors .
The four bodies recovered yesterday are those of Jonathan Bloomer , the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, his wife Anne Elizabeth , his lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada . The British entrepreneur and owner of the yacht Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hanna are therefore missing .
The teams that have been operating for two days in extremely difficult conditions have been joined by the divers who took part in the search for the Concordia tragedy . The British sailing vessel is lying on its starboard side; according to an initial external inspection, the hull does not show any leaks and the 75-metre-high aluminium mainmast is intact. The divers' attention was also drawn to the vessel's large centreboard, which was partially raised because the vessel was at anchor. The draft of the so-called dead weight, which in the case of the Bayesian is around ten metres, is intended to ensure stability for the vessel. The lifting of the centreboard could therefore have in some way contributed to the sudden sinking of the yacht, which according to footage from some coastal cameras, occurred within a minute.
Another hypothesis put forward by the English tabloid Daily Mail is that of the " doors left open ", indicated as a possible access route for a large mass of water capable of completely filling the hull and causing it to sink in a few seconds.
An answer to the many questions that still surround this mystery could also come from the images of an underwater robot, the Rov (Remotely Operated Vehicle). The robot, capable of operating on the seabed up to a depth of 300 meters and with an autonomy of between 6 and 7 hours, is equipped with advanced technology that allows it to investigate the seabed and record detailed videos and images. The goal is to collect useful and timely elements to reconstruct the dynamics of the accident for the benefit of the Termini Imerese Prosecutor's Office that is investigating the shipwreck.
Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio continues to maintain strict confidentiality about the investigation ; firefighters and the Coast Guard have reportedly been ordered not to speak to journalists.
The magistrates have already questioned James Catfield, 51, the commander of the Bayesian, for over two hours , to reconstruct the dramatic phases of the sinking and to acquire technical details useful for the investigation. And then also the other survivors, who are inside the Domina-Zagarella resort, in Santa Flavia.
Catfield is considered an experienced captain, who has worked all his life on board large vessels and who knows the Mediterranean well. The media in New Zealand, the country of origin of the man, have also covered the story. The "NzHerald", in particular, interviewed Cutfield's brother, Mark, who confirmed that the captain has been at the helm of luxury boats for about eight years.
Meanwhile, the top executives of Morgan Stanley International also arrived at the Santa Flavia resort, having come to Sicily as soon as they learned the news that the president of the investment bank, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Anne Elizabeth Judith were among those missing in the shipwreck.
"A tragedy worthy of William Shakespeare" is how British entrepreneur Brent Hoberman, a personal friend of tycoon Mike Lynch, described it. And right in front of the site of this Shakespearean tragedy, there are those who have given life to a sort of horror tourism, with people competing to take selfies and shoot videos to post on social media with the backdrop of the sea that swallowed the Bayesian.
(Online Union)