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The world has a fantastic array of very interesting luxury yacht builders and superyacht designers . At CharterWorld we have the definitive information on the ever evolving yacht builders and designers, as well as the latest superyacht news relating to the latest new yacht designs and new build yacht launches.

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For your reference, CharterWorld provides a  charter and superyacht news section as well as a  superyacht directory for easy access to the complete world of interesting yachts , not just luxury charter yachts. This comprehensive list is organised by the yachts naval architect designer , by year and by the country the builder launched them in.

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New to Yachting or Superyacht Charter Vacations? If you haven’t enjoyed the advantages of this type of luxury holiday, then this section has plenty of articles about how it all works and what to expect. Of course you can also just contact us and an experienced broker will personally guide you through and explain everything. Additionally, the yachting news section keeps you abreast of developments in the industry.

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The top 25 largest yachts in the world

Every year, shipyards from around the world push the boundaries of superyacht design to deliver bigger and better yachts. The Samuda-built El Mahrousa may have carried the title unchallenged for a remarkable 119 years, but in the 21st century, she has descended down the pecking order to make room for even larger and longer yachts. German shipyard Lürssen currently holds a near monopoly in the construction of supersized superyachts, having delivered 13 of the world’s top 25. But the list is ever-changing with the 158 metre Blue breaking into the top five in 2022. These yachts, all measuring over 100 metres, are impressive not only for their hull length but for what they carry above and below deck. From submarines and helicopters to swimming pools , cinemas and science labs, the onboard features of these superyachts show them to be truly ground-breaking pieces of engineering. Read on to discover our official list of the largest, privately owned yachts in the world.

1. Azzam | 180.6m

In October 2013, Lürssen delivered the largest privately owned superyacht in the world in the form Azzam . Originally, she was designed to be 145 metres, but in the process of optimisation grew to 180 metres. Other stunning facts about Azzam’s impressive design include her staggering 13,000 GT and accommodation for 36 guests and as many as 80 crew members. The behemoth was reportedly built for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, for use as a dayboat to reach his favourite diving grounds. The main saloon alone encompasses nearly 522m² and has a relaxed French Empire style and mother of pearl finishes, designed by Christophe Leoni . On board features include a gym, pool and a special ‘golf training room’.

Exteriors have been penned by Nauta Yacht Design , and the technical engineering was directed by Mubarak Saad al Ahbabi for the owner. The yacht has an impressive speed for her size owing to her innovative water-jet propulsion system (two fixed jets, two directional), which catapults her along at a staggering 31.5-plus knots. At 17.5 metres longer than Roman Abramovich’s Eclipse , this boat takes the prestigious title of the world’s largest yacht. The all-white superyacht has held her title unchallenged for nearly seven years, but this reign will come to an end with the expected delivery of 183 metre REV .

• Builder: Lurssen
• Country of build: Germany
• Delivery year: 2013
• Length Overall: 180.61 m
• Gross Tonnage 13136 t

More about this yacht

More stories, 2. eclipse | 162.5m.

After five years of intensive design, development and construction, Eclipse left the Blohm + Voss yard in December 2010. She carried the title of world’s largest superyacht for just three years before being usurped by Azzam . Managed by Blue Ocean Yacht Management, Eclipse features a diesel-electric propulsion system with generators powering rotating Azipod drives, dramatic exterior styling and a stunning interior design by London-based Terence Disdale Design , which has been responsible for all aspects of aesthetic design and layout, including the superstructure design, deck layouts, interior design and construction supervision. Eclipse was voted Motor Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards in 2011 and Motor Yacht of the Decade at the 10th World Superyacht Awards in 2015.

Her accommodation includes an owner’s deck of 56 metres in length and facilities for up to 92 crew. Her interior boasts hundreds of custom finishes exclusively developed especially for this project, while her deck areas include a 16 metre swimming pool which can be transformed into a dance floor. The yacht can also accommodate three helicopters, one on each of the two helipads and the third in a storage hangar below the fore deck.

• Builder: Blohm & Voss
• Delivery year: 2010
• Length Overall: 162.5 m
• Gross Tonnage 13564 t

3. Dubai | 162m

Dubai was originally commissioned by Prince Jefri of Brunei with exterior styling and interior design by Andrew Winch . The Blohm & Voss project was suspended in 1998 with just the bare hull and partially complete superstructure. It was eventually sold to the Dubai government, and responsibility passed to Kostis Antonopoulos of Platinum Yachts , which prepared a new in-house interior design completed in 2006.

The aptly named Dubai is the royal yacht of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai. The accommodation, styled by Nakheel Interiors , is designed for 24 guests and comprises an owner’s suite, five VIP suites and six guest suites, all with open balconies. Special features include a 21.3m-wide atrium, a swimming pool, barbecue area, cinema, disco, a landing platform for a Blackhawk helicopter, a gymnasium, and a garage for the yacht’s submarine and a vast array of water toys. Full certification was obtained from Lloyds Register of Shipping in October 2006 and she has since made several voyages. She can reach a maximum speed of 25 knots.

• Builder: Platinum
• Country of build: United Arab Emirates
• Delivery year: 2006
• Length Overall: 162 m
• Gross Tonnage 12488 t

4. Blue | 158m

Taking her place at number four in the list of the world’s longest yachts, Lürssen’s Blue is so voluminous that she beats all the longer boats in terms of gross tonnage. Built for a Middle Eastern owner, she is exceeded for internal space only by those behemoths Dilbar (15,917GT) and Al Said (15,850GT). Terence Disdale has penned classic exterior lines with a sharply raked bow and gentle curves to the deep overhangs of the decks. The main helipad is positioned on the bow, with a smaller one aft. Other exterior features include a pool under cover on the main deck aft, a bathing platform at the stern and twin balconies flanking the owner’s cabin forward. Blue ’s interior is designed to be timeless and rich in “feminine elegance”, a deliberate contrast to the exterior. 

Blue is equipped with a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system that was developed in-house. An electric Azimuth pod drive can manoeuvre the boat alone or in conjunction with the twin propeller shafts. To reduce noise, vibration and NOx levels, Blue has a state-of-the-art exhaust treatment system. The boat is also equipped with new membrane technology that means her treated waste water achieves drinking water quality.

• Delivery year: 2022
• Length Overall: 160.6 m
• Beam: 22.5 m
• Gross Tonnage 14785 t

5. Dilbar | 156m

With a total interior volume of over 15,000 GT, Dilbar is the largest yacht in the world by gross tonnage, if not by length. She was built in steel and aluminium by Lürssen to a design by Espen Øino . In 2016, she was delivered in the Mediterranean for her owner, the Uzbekistani billionaire Alisher Usmanov. She replaced Usmanov’s previous yacht of the same name, which has since been renamed Ona . She is usually spotted cruising around the South of France, northern Spain and sometimes Cyprus.

Record-breaking features on board this SOLAS-class superyacht include her 180 cubic metre swimming pool and her 30,000KW electric diesel power plant. Her interiors, styled by Winch Design, can accommodate up to 24 guests served by nearly 100 crew members. She also has two helipads, 3,800 square metres of living space amd an expansive garden complete with a specially developed variety of grass that tolerates salt air, according to its creator Axel Massmann. Dilbar has a single colour for her exterior, a buttery cream shade, that makes her instantly recognisable at sea and can reach a top speed of 21 knots.

• Delivery year: 2016
• Length Overall: 156 m
• Beam: 23.5 m
• Gross Tonnage 15917 t

6. Al Said | 155m

This Lloyd’s-classed vessel, known as Project Sunflower during construction, was delivered by Lürssen’s Vegesack yard to her owner, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman, in March 2008. Measuring an impressive 155 metres, Al Said is the principle vessel of the Oman Royal Yacht Squadron. Designed by Espen Øino with the looks of a classic cruise liner, she sails under the Omani flag and her home port is Muttrah Harbour in Muscat. 

This Germanischer Lloyd-classed, 15,850GT yacht can reach a top speed of 25 knots and is reported to have a crew capacity of 150. Her panelled interiors, designed in a traditional style by Jonathan Quinn Barnett , offers huge entertaining spaces and accommodation for 65 guests. Her pièce de résistance is the on-board concert hall that can accommodate a 50-strong orchestra, but across her six decks she also has a helipad and a cinema.

• Delivery year: 2008
• Length Overall: 155 m
• Gross Tonnage 15850 t

7. El Mahrousa | 150.6m

El Mahrousa was first delivered by the Samuda Brothers shipyard in 1865. She held on to the title of longest yacht in the world for over a century before finally being usurped by the delivery of Prince Abdulaziz in the 1980s. She was originally built for the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Khedive Ismail, receive visiting dignitaries. and was present at the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal in 1869, when she was used to receive visiting dignitaries. She was lengthened by 12.1 metres in 1872, when her paddle wheels were removed, and by a further 5.2 metres in 1905. Her last major rebuild was in 1950.

Significant moments in her lifetime include her participation in 1976 as the Egyptian representative at the Bicentennial Fleet Review in New York harbour. She slipped into disrepair after this while being used as a museum ship. In 1992, a major effort was put into making her seaworthy enough to travel to Italy for the Christopher Columbus Fleet Review. She now serves as the Egyptian Presidential Yacht but is seldom seen in public. She is usually berthed in Alexandria, where she is cared for by the Egyptian Navy, which lists her as a training ship. Powered by three Parsons steam turbines, she can achieve a top speed of 16 knots.

• Builder: Samuda
• Country of build: United Kingdom
• Delivery year: 1865
• Length Overall: 150.57 m
• Beam: 12.98 m
• Gross Tonnage 4560 t

8. A+ | 147.3m

Formerly known as Topaz , the Tim Heywood -designed A+ was launched by Lürssen in 2012 and uniquely features Heywood’s signature illuminated on her superstructure. Although she flies a Cayman flag, her owner is a member of the UAE elite – reportedly Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who also owns the UK’s Manchester City football club.

Having previously been chartered twice by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the 147.25 metre superyacht features a helicopter landing pad located at the bow and her interiors have been designed by Terence Disdale – but not much else is known about this superyacht, as many of her details are still shrouded in secrecy.

• Delivery year: 2012
• Length Overall: 147.25 m
• Beam: 21.5 m
• Gross Tonnage 12532 t

9. Prince Abdulaziz | 147m

The 5,200-tonne Prince Abdulaziz was delivered by Danish shipyard Helsingor Vaerft in 1984 to her first owner, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Since then, she has continued to serve the Saudi royal family and is berthed beside the king’s palace in Jeddah. She has been refitted three times; in 1987, 1996 and in 2005.

Prince Abdulaziz was built at a reported cost of $184m to a design by Maierform . Her interior, designed by the late David Hicks , blends ancient and modern. One notable feature is the large lobby, said to be designed to mimic that of the Titanic . She includes a hospital, a mosque and a cinema, and there are also rumours of surface-to-air missiles and an underwater surveillance system on board. The mega yacht can accommodate as many as 64 guests and is manned by a crew of 65.

• Builder: Helsingor Vaerft
• Country of build: Denmark
• Delivery year: 1984
• Length Overall: 147 m
• Beam: 18.3 m
• Gross Tonnage 8233 t

10. Opera | 146.4m

Reportedly built for a senior Emirati royal, Opera 's size and gross tonnage catapult her directly into the ranks of the world's 10 biggest private yachts. The 146.4-metre yacht certainly has some of the hallmarks of a Middle Eastern boat, with deep overhangs between decks and lots of enclosed deck space hinting at use in an aggressive climate. Pictures taken during a maiden voyage from Bremen to Portsmouth last summer showed lots of floor-to-ceiling glass across six guest decks, as well as two helicopter landing spots and a beach club whose twin staircases must climb two decks to reach a 10-metre, stone-lined pool aft of the main deck. The pool rises to form a dance floor.

Lürssen has kept the project shrouded in secrecy, but designer Terence Disdale confirmed that interior facilities include a cinema and an extensive spa and wellness centre, plus other features that are being kept under wraps. He also mentioned an upper lounge with a 110-inch television and bay windows.

• Delivery year: 2023
• Length Overall: 146.35 m
• Gross Tonnage 12518 t

11. OK | 146m

This unusual vessel spent decades plying the seas as a float-on yacht carrier for DYT Yacht Transport with the unglamorous moniker Super Servant 3 – and it is this carrying ability that caught the owner’s eye.

40 years after its original launch by Japan’s Oshima Shipbuilding , the yacht emerged from a root-and-branch refit at Karmarine in Turkey. The exterior has been smartened up, with a new matt-black paint job, gold-tinted glazing, teak decking at the bow, stern and sides and an expanse of artificial grass on the submersible aft deck – an idea of the owner’s, to enliven the guest cabins’ view. There are reports that this space doubles as a tennis court and, at 32 metres by 100 metres, there would certainly be the room for it.

With a strengthened hull, the boat’s original role as a yacht carrier has been enhanced. Pumping ballast into tanks under the aft deck allows the platform to lower so that the owner’s 46-metre ketch can be floated aboard and secured. There’s also a 40-tonne crane for positioning other toys – reportedly up to 70 of them, from launches and cars to a seaplane.

Under the direction of Bozca Design , Karmarine has stripped out and rebuilt the accommodation area at the front of the yacht. There are cabins for up to 20 guests, a glazed sundeck spa pool, a "botanical" garden and an outdoor cinema. The lift between decks runs through a glass tower outside the superstructure. 

• Builder: Oshima Shipbuilding
• Country of build: Japan
• Delivery year: 1982
• Length Overall: 146 m
• Beam: 32.01 m
• Gross Tonnage 11296 t

12. Sailing Yacht A | 142.8m

This Philippe Starck -designed vessel is the second superyacht commissioned by Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko, after his first Motor Yacht A . She was built in Germany by the Nobiskrug yard and delivered in February 2017.

A sail-assisted yacht like no other, Sailing Yacht A comprises eight decks, and her rotating curved carbon fibre masts tower to 100 metres. She is made to set 3,747 square metres of sail and is manned by crew of 54. She sports an underwater viewing pod (moulded into the keel) and balconies enclosed by the largest pieces of curved glass ever. There are 24 shell doors in her hull, and she has a diesel-electric power plant controlled by computer. Records claimed by the Starck superyacht include the world's tallest carbon masts, with the tallest standing at 100 metres above sea level.

• Builder: Nobiskrug
• Delivery year: 2017
• Length Overall: 142.81 m
• Beam: 24.88 m
• Gross Tonnage 12700 t

16. Scheherazade | 140m

Another titan by Lürssen , Scheherazade carries the same name as the enigmatic story-teller of the Middle Eastern epic One Thousand and One nights . She hit the water in July 2019 and offers phenomenal volumes at 10,167 GT. Her Espen Øino exterior features a four-deck aluminium superstructure with elegant tapering roofs and an eclectic range of coloured LED exterior lighting. She also has two large helipads – one at the bow and one on the upper deck – plus a prominent beach club aft. 

There is very little information regarding her interior by François Zuretti , but if the work of the French design house on 106-metre Amadea is anything to go by, it is imperious and sophisticated. With the owner known to be a Middle Eastern billionaire, this yacht is designed with warmer climates in mind. Temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Celsius are quite normal in the region during the summer months, so Scheherazade has relatively little exterior space for a yacht of this size. There is limited covered deck space at the aft end of the main and upper decks, but it is well enclosed by glass sides for cooling. Even the sundeck is completely shaded by a hardtop, which all helps to give her an astonishing internal volume.

• Delivery year: 2020
• Length Overall: 141.96 m
• Beam: 23.3 m
• Gross Tonnage 10167 t

13. Nord | 142m

Nord started life as Project Redwood, then Opus. Everyone involved in her design and build has remained tight-lipped about the details, but build manager Rob Moran shared some exclusive insight with BOAT International .

First up, she has an Ice Class hull for real exploration. Her aluminium superstructure runs to four decks, contained within the dramatic sweep of a black-painted arch – a key part of the vision of designers Nuvolari Lenard . Not one but two helipads are in evidence, while a vast beach club and tender garage gives  "space to store a plethora of toys including 16 tenders, a submarine and an ROV", according to Moran. The largest tender reportedly measures 15 metres, and there is a watersports and dive centre on the lower deck. Nord has a generous touch-and-go helipad at its heavily flared aircraft carrier bow, but there is also a much bigger space aft up on the bridge deck that offers landing, parking and bunkering for the owner’s helicopter, as well as an entire hangar for protection during longer passages. 

Also visible to onlookers was the exceptional 25-metre-long swimming pool on the main deck aft, plus a spa pool on the upper deck. Her interior is reported to include a gym, spa, sauna and a whole deck devoted to the owner.

• Delivery year: 2021
• Length Overall: 141.6 m
• Beam: 19.5 m
• Gross Tonnage 10154 t

14. Yas | 141m

Delivered in 1978 by De Schelde as a navy frigate, Yas was rebuilt in 2013 by Abu Dhabi MAR. Previously known under the project name Swift 141, she was completely modified with new machinery and electronic systems and outfitted with a luxurious interior. It has been suggested that her owner is a member of the Emirati royal family.

She has been designed inside and out by Pierrejean Design Studio of Paris . The unique superstructure of Yas is built in advanced composites and glass and was supposedly inspired by the profile shape of a dolphin. She is reportedly able to accommodate 60 guests and 56 crew, and on-board features include a heli-pad and al fresco dining spaces aft, and a Jacuzzi on her top deck. Her beach club Jacuzzi is complemented by a waterfall feature and a spiral staircase connects her the multiple decks. Powered by twin MTU diesels, Yas has a top speed of 26 knots.

• Builder: De Schelde
• Country of build: Netherlands
• Length Overall: 141 m
• Beam: 14.6 m
• Gross Tonnage 5002 t

15. Ocean Victory | 140m

Ocean Victory was completed at Fincantieri’s Muggiano yard in Italy after launching in April 2014. This seven-deck yacht is based on a design by Espen Øino and her interior is by Alberto Pinto and Laura Sessa . She has internal seawater dockage for a 14-metre tender and six pools of up to 8 metres in length. There’s a certified helideck and a hangar to store the aircraft, while inside Ocean Victory boasts an underwater observation room and more than 300 square metres of spa facilities. She is SOLAS-classed and is the largest yacht ever built in Italy. 

In 2016, the superyacht world was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of one of Ocean Victory’ s crew members, who suffered critical leg injuries while setting the anchor off the coast of Mu Ko Similan National Park in Thailand. Little else is known about this top-secret yacht, which is kept much under wraps and away from prying eyes.

• Builder: Fincantieri
• Country of build: Italy
• Delivery year: 2014
• Length Overall: 140 m
• Gross Tonnage 8506 t

17. Solaris | 140M

The 140-metre expedition yacht Solaris was launched in the city of Bremerhaven in February 2021 as the flagship model of German shipyard Lloyd Werft . She is the debut project of Australian designer Marc Newson , who has given her a dramatic grey and white superstructure which features a unique fashion plate which wraps around the mast and connects both sides of the hull. Spanning eight decks in total, Solaris has been constructed in aluminium and steel and offers a 26-metre beam. Little information has been shared about her interiors, but her exterior is equipped with a large helipad, a sun deck and a spacious beach club aft.

Turning to the technical elements, Solaris is reportedly outfitted with a power and energy management system from ABB and features two Azipods powered by nine megawatts – the most powerful propulsion system of its kind to ever be installed on a yacht. She runs on a total of eight MTU diesel engines, providing 19,040hp. Little else is known about the superyacht, on which construction first began in 2018.

• Builder: Lloyd Werft
• Length Overall: 139.7 m
• Gross Tonnage 11247 t

18. Al Salamah | 139.3m

Built by the consortium of Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel and the Lürssen shipyard in Germany, Al Salamah is often referred to as "Mipos", the code name used during the construction of this most secret of yachts. Mipos was short for "Mission Possible" – a statement proved correct by her delivery in 1999.

She has a length of 139.3 metres, a massive beam of 23.5 metres, and is reported to have a top speed of 21.5 knots. Both the interior design and the exterior styling are by the London-based Terence Disdale Design . Al Salamah was owned by the late Sultan bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, who also owned 147 metre Prince Abdulaziz . She was refitted by Lürssen in 2007 and is rumoured to carry a hospital room with an underwater treadmill for physical therapy on board.

• Delivery year: 1999
• Length Overall: 139.29 m
• Gross Tonnage 12234 t

19. Luminance | 138.8m

Espen Øino is repsonsible for this giant yacht's crisp exterior lines. Despite a traditional raked bow, she looks bang up to date with a gleaming hull and superstructure that counterpoise dark blue and silver to create a masculine look. Øino has played with the profile of the overhangs to give the illusion of reverse sheer amidships. The effect is especially striking when viewing the yacht from beam-on. Her twin helicopter pads – one on the foredeck and another high up aft – will make her capable of ambitious explorer programmes. She also boasts a large beach club and an infinity pool, with a private spa pool area on the foredeck of what may be an owner's deck.

Luminance was expected in 2023, but delivery has fallen back a fraction. It is a mammoth project, whose true length has only just been confirmed at 138.8 metres. Her Ukranian owner, mining and financial services mogul Rinat Akhmetov, told The New York Times last year that he was mulling the boat's sale following Russia's invasion of his homeland, but it's not known whether he followed through.

• Delivery year: 2024
• Length Overall: 138.8 m
• Gross Tonnage 8999 t

20. Rising Sun | 138m

Rising Sun was built for Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle. She's the last yacht that ever came from designer Jon Bannenberg’s drawing board, with interiors styled by   Laura Seccombe . Rising Sun ’s naval architecture experimented with an extensive use of structural glass for a clean and stripped-down profile.

In 2006, Ellison sold half ownership to media mogul David Geffen, who bought the remaining half in 2010. Rising Sun is reported to have cost more than $290,000,000 and was extended by 18 metres in-build to ensure she was larger than the 126.2-metre Octopus , belonging to Microsoft’s co-founder, Paul Allen. Her 8,000 square metres of living space can accommodate 45 crew members, and includes a wine cellar and basketball court, plus accommodation for 16. One of her tenders, a catamaran, carries the yacht’s 4x4 vehicle ashore.

• Delivery year: 2004
• Length Overall: 138 m
• Gross Tonnage 7841 t

21. Flying Fox | 136m

Formerly Project Shu, PYC-compliant Flying Fox was built by Lürssen for a serial charter yacht owner and completed her sea trials off the coast of Germany in May 2019. The 136-metre, six-deck yacht towers 32 metres above the waterline – as tall as three London buses balanced end on end. Her elegant, well-balanced profile by Espen Øino conceals an extraordinarily voluminous interior by Mark Berryman , including a double-height atrium that forms the main deck lobby. There are 11 cabins for 36 guests, all with private sea-view terraces, and expansive outdoor living spaces, such as a 12-metre swimming pool transversing the main deck aft, swim platforms and two helipads. The 400-square-metre spa is the stand-out feature. It has heated limestone floors, a Hammam, massage and beauty treatment rooms and the first cryosauna ever installed on a yacht, with a main chamber that reaches a chilly -110C. There’s also an on-board hospital.

One of the most expensive superyachts in the world available for charter , Flying Fox is crewed by an experienced team of 54. She boasts a toybox stuffed with jet skis and other Seabobs, hoverboards, room for a submarine and and nine different tenders. Plus, she even has her own dive centre and kite surf store on board.

• Delivery year: 2019
• Length Overall: 136 m
• Beam: 20.5 m
• Gross Tonnage 9100 t

Yachts for charter

22. savarona | 135.9m.

Built by Blohm + Voss for American bridge cable heiress Emily Roebling Cadwalader in 1931, Savarona was sold in 1938 to the Turkish government and became the presidential yacht of Kemal Atatürk. In 1989, Kahraman Sadikoglu obtained a 50-year lease and, with investors, spent $35,000,000 on the refit of this classic superyacht, including a library suite dedicated to the memory of Atatürk and furnished with his personal artefacts. In 2010, after an alleged scandal, the Turkish government cancelled the lease and resumed ownership. In 2014, she was refurbished and now serves as the state yacht of Turkey. 

Savarona was, for a time, offered on the market for superyacht charters around Istanbul, although she is no longer available to the public. Key features onboard this superyacht include a marble-finished Turkish hammam bath that spans the entire 16-metre beam, a swimming pool, a gold-trimmed grand staircase and a private cinema. She is named after a type of black swan found in the Indian Ocean region.

• Delivery year: 1931
• Length Overall: 135.94 m
• Beam: 16.12 m
• Gross Tonnage 4701 t

23. Crescent | 135.5m

Crescent , formerly Project Thunder, has what the yard called a "traditionally-styled" interior by Zuretti , exterior design by Espen Øino and naval architecture by Lürssen . Øino went to great lengths to maximise what he calls the "vision lines" from the interior and the decks – especially from the centreline, which on such a beamy boat is a long way from the sides – by having full height windows and keeping the bulwarks as low as possible.

She has a steel hull and aluminium superstructure and was built to DNV GL standards. Her striking black hull is matched with a silver superstructure that has distinctive wing stations amidships. Just forward of the wing stations are three-deck windows, providing spectacular views for her 18-strong guest list.

• Delivery year: 2018
• Length Overall: 135.5 m
• Gross Tonnage 9194 t

24. Serene | 133.9m

Built for a Russian owner, Serene was the first superyacht delivered by Italian yard Fincantieri . She can accommodate up to 24 guests and 52 crew, and boasts 4,500 square metres of interior space designed by Reymond Langton .

Serene has seven decks, two helipads and a hangar, carries a custom submarine certified to 100m depth and has underwater viewing ports in her Nemo room. A "snow room" can make up to four inches of snow, while the impressive spiral staircase rises through six decks and is lit by a large skylight. Serene won Best Motor Yacht of 3,000GT and Above at the 2012 World Superyacht Awards. Powered by a diesel engine, Serene can reach a top speed of 20 knots and has a maximum cruising range of 6000 nautical miles.

• Delivery year: 2011
• Length Overall: 133.9 m
• Beam: 18.6 m
• Gross Tonnage 8231 t

25. Al Mirqab | 133m

Al Mirqab was built by Peterswerft - Kusch for Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani – the former prime minister of Qatar. Her exterior design is by Tim Heywood and her interiors were styled by Winch Design . She is propelled by five generators that power two electric motors driving conventional shafts and a centrally positioned azimuthing electric pod drive. A grand staircase floats through four floors and surrounds suspended glass artwork by Dale Chihuly. 

Al Mirqab won Motor Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards 2009 and Best Interior Design among motor yachts. She can accommodate 60 guests and is manned by an equal number of crew.

• Builder: Peterswerft - Kusch
• Length Overall: 133.2 m
• Gross Tonnage 5000 t

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Lynch Yacht Sinking Off Sicily Proves as Baffling as It Is Tragic

As bodies were recovered, the authorities and experts wondered how a $40 million, stable and secure vessel could have sunk so quickly.

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By Emma Bubola and Michael J. de la Merced

Emma Bubola reported from Porticello, Italy, and Michael J. de la Merced from London.

Two months after being cleared in a bruising legal battle over fraud charges, the British tech mogul Mike Lynch celebrated his freedom with a cruise. He invited his family, friends and part of his legal team on board his luxury sailing yacht, a majestic 180-foot vessel named Bayesian after the mathematical theorem around which he had built his empire.

On Sunday night, after a tour of the Gulf of Naples, including Capri, and volcanic islands in the Eolian archipelago, the boat anchored half a mile off the Sicilian coast in Porticello, Italy. It chose a stretch of water favored by the Phoenicians thousands of years ago for its protection from the mistral wind and, in more recent times, by the yachts of tech billionaires. The boat was lit “like a Christmas tree,” local residents said, standing out against the full moon.

But about 4 a.m., calamity unfolded. A violent and fast storm hit the area with some of the strongest winds locals said they had ever felt. Fabio Cefalù, a fisherman, said he saw a flare pierce the darkness shortly after 4.

Minutes later, the yacht was underwater. Only dozens of cushions from the boat’s deck and a gigantic radar from its mast floated on the surface of the sea, fishermen said.

In all, 22 people were on board, 15 of whom were rescued. Six bodies — five passengers and the ship’s cook — had been recovered by Thursday afternoon, including that of Mr. Lynch, an Italian government official said, adding that the search was continuing for his daughter.

It was a tragic and mystifying turn of events for Mr. Lynch, 59, who had spent years seeking to clear his name and was finally inaugurating a new chapter in his life. Experts wondered how a $40 million yacht, so robust and stable could have been sunk by a storm near a port within minutes.

“It drives me insane,” said Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company, Perini, that made the Bayesian. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

The aura of misfortune only deepened when it emerged that Stephen Chamberlain, 52, a former vice president of finance for Mr. Lynch’s former company and a co-defendant in the fraud case, was killed two days earlier, when he was hit by a car while jogging near his house in England.

Since June, the two men had been in a jubilant mood. A jury in San Francisco had acquitted both on fraud charges that could have sent them to prison for two decades. There were hugs and tears, and they and their legal teams went for a celebratory dinner party at a restaurant in the city, said Gary S. Lincenberg, a lawyer for Mr. Chamberlain.

The sea excursion was meant as a thank-you by Mr. Lynch to those who had helped him in his legal travails. Among the guests was Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a scion of a prominent New York family of lawyers who had represented Mr. Lynch for 12 years. He and his wife, Neda, 57, were among the missing.

So, too, was Jonathan Bloomer, 70, a veteran British insurance executive who chaired Morgan Stanley International and the insurer Hiscox.

The body of the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered. All the other crew members survived. Among them was Leo Eppel, 19, of South Africa, who was on his first yacht voyage working as a deck steward, said a friend, who asked not to be identified.

Since the sinking, the recovery effort and investigation have turned the tiny port town of Porticello, a quiet enclave where older men sit bare-chested on balconies, into what feels like the set of a movie.

Helicopters have flown overhead. Ambulances have sped by with the sirens blaring. The Coast Guard has patrolled the waters off shore, within sight of a cordoned-off dock that had been turned into an emergency headquarters.

On Wednesday afternoon, a church bell tolled after the first body bag was loaded into an ambulance, a crowd watching in silence.

The survivors were sheltering in a sprawling resort near Porticello, with a view of the shipwreck spot, and had so far declined to comment.

Attilio Di Diodato, director of the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, said that the yacht had most likely been hit by a fierce “down burst” — when air generated within a thunderstorm descends rapidly — or by a waterspout , similar to a tornado over water.

He added that his agency had put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about storms and strong winds. Locals said the winds “felt like an earthquake.”

Mr. Costantino, the boat executive, said the yacht had been specifically designed for having a tall mast — the second-tallest aluminum mast in the world. He said the Bayesian was an extremely safe and secure boat that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing.

But he said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, is to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

The New York Times attempted to reach the captain, James Cutfield, who had survived, for comment through social media, his brother and the management company of the yacht (which did not hire the crew), but did not make contact.

So far none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened that night.

Fabio Genco, the director of Palermo’s emergency services, who treated some of the survivors, said that the victims had recounted feeling as if the boat was being lifted, then suddenly dropped, with objects from the cabins falling on them.

The Italian Coast Guard said it had deployed a remotely operated vehicle that can prowl underwater for up to seven hours at a depth of more than 980 feet and record videos and images that they hoped would help them reconstruct the dynamics of the sinking. Such devices were used during the search and rescue operations of the Titan vessel that is believed to have imploded last summer near the wreckage of the Titanic.

After rescuers broke inside the yacht, they struggled to navigate the ropes and many pieces of furniture cluttering the vessel, said Luca Cari, a spokesman for Italy’s national firefighter corps.

Finally, as of Thursday morning, they had managed to retrieve all but one of the missing bodies, and hopes of finding the missing person alive were thin. “Can a human being be underwater for two days?” Mr. Cari asked.

What was certain was that Mr. Lynch’s death was yet another cruel twist of fate for a man who had spent years seeking to clear his name.

He earned a fortune in technology and was nicknamed Britain’s Bill Gates. But for more than a decade, he had been treated as anything but a respected tech leader.

He was accused by Hewlett-Packard, the American technological pioneer that had bought his software company, Autonomy, for $11 billion, of misleading it about his company’s worth. (Hewlett-Packard wrote down the value of the transaction by about $8.8 billion, and critics called it one of the worst deals of all time .) He had been increasingly shunned by the British establishment that he sought to break into after growing up working-class outside London.

He was extradited to San Francisco to face criminal charges, and confined to house arrest and 24-hour surveillance on his dime. In a townhouse in the Pacific Heights neighborhood — with security people he jokingly told associates were his “roommates” — he spent his mornings talking with researchers whom he funded personally on new applications for artificial intelligence. Afterward, he devoted hours to discussing legal strategy with his team.

Despite his persistent claims of innocence, even those close to Mr. Lynch had believed his odds of victory were slim. Autonomy’s chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted in 2018 of similar fraud charges and spent five years in prison.

During Mr. Lynch’s house arrest, his brother and mother died. His wife, Angela Bacares, frequently flew over from England, and she became a constant presence in the San Francisco courtroom during the trial.

After he was finally acquitted, Mr. Lynch had his eye on the future. “I am looking forward to returning to the U.K. and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” he said.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting from Pallanza, Italy.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola

Michael J. de la Merced has covered global business and finance news for The Times since 2006. More about Michael J. de la Merced

Sicily Yacht Company CEO Shares "Endless" Errors That May Have Led to Fatal Sinking Tragedy

After the sinking of a yacht off the coast of sicily that left six people—including tech tycoon mike lynch—dead, ceo giovanni costantino is shedding light on the errors that could have been avoided..

The CEO behind the sunken superyacht believes the tragedy in Sicily could have been prevented. 

Just days after  superyacht the Bayesian sank off the coast of Palermo, Italy  during a freak storm early Aug. 19,  Giovanni Costantino , the founder and CEO of The Italian Sea Group which owns the company that built the ship in 2008, is shedding light on what he believes was an "endless chain of errors from the crew."

"Everything that was done reveals a very long summation of errors," he told Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera  Aug. 21, in an interview translated from Italian. "The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor."

As Costantino explained, the crew should have known about the storm, calling the claim that it was sudden and unexpected untrue.

"It was all predictable. I have the weather charts here in front of me," he said. "Ask yourself: why were no fishermen from Porticello out that night? A fisherman reads the weather conditions and a ship doesn't? The storm was fully legible in all the weather charts. It couldn't have been ignored."

The CEO also asserted the Bayesian was "one of the safest boats in the world" and practically "unsinkable."

"I'm saying that, in fact, mistakes were made," he added. "There's a world between the arrival of a storm and the loading of water. A series of activities had to be done to avoid finding ourselves in that situation."

In order to have avoided the tragedy, he explains that the first step would have been to armor the hull and deck "by closing all the doors and hatches, after having placed the guests in the assembly point of the ship as per emergency procedure."

Twenty-two people were originally on the yacht when it sank, including 10 crew members and 12 guests. The group had come together to  celebrate the acquittal  of tech tycoon  Mike Lynch  on charges of fraud related to Hewlett Packard's $11 billion takeover of his company Autonomy Corp.

Unfortunately,  Lynch's body was recovered on Aug. 22  from the ship's hull. The bodies of Morgan Stanley International Chairman  Jonathan Bloomer  and his wife  Judy Bloomer  and Clifford Chance lawyer  Chris Morvillo  and his wife  Neda Morvillo   had been recovered on Aug. 21 .

Lynch's 18-year-old daughter  Hannah  is the sixth and final missing person, with rescuers still searching for her.

In all, 15 of the 22 passengers survived the wreckage—one of them Lynch's wife  Angela Bacares —while the body of the ship's cook  Renaldo   Thomas  was recovered following the sinking.

One survivor,  Charlotte Golunski ,  recounted the harrowing experience , sharing how she, her 1-year-old  Sophie  and partner  James Emsley  survived.

"For two seconds, I lost my daughter in the sea, then quickly hugged her amid the fury of the waves," she told Italian newspaper  La Repubblica  Aug. 20, per the  BBC . "It was all dark. In the water I couldn't keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others." 

According to Golunski, a lifeboat was soon inflated that 11 of the survivors—including her family—climbed in.

Director of Sicily's Civil Protection Agency  Salvatore Cocina  had previously stated that it was likely a waterborne tornado—known as a waterspout—that struck the area and caused the tragedy.  He noted that the yacht was unfortunately  "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sicily yacht sinking LIVE: Family of Mike and Hannah Lynch 'devastated' as final body recovered from Bayesian

LIVE – Updated at 14:32

A body has been found in the search for the final person missing from the wreck of the Bayesian superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily .

Divers today resumed their search for Hannah Lynch, 18, the daughter of technology tycoon Mike Lynch , who remained ‘unaccounted for’.

The Italian Coastguard told media this morning that they had found a body and it had been brought to shore.

Following the discovery the Lynch family released a statement saying they are “devastated, in shock and being comforted and supported by family and friends”.

"Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue,” the statement continued.

"Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief."

Mr Lynch, his daughter, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday in a severe storm.

Italian authorities have launched an investigation into how the boat sank as questions continue to mount around how the tragedy occurred.

They are 'investigating shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable manslaughter', Italian media reported on Friday.

For the latest updates see below.

Pictured: Hannah Lynch and the family dog ‘Faucet’

Bloomer family pay tribute.

In a statement confirming their parents' deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as "incredible people and an inspiration to many".

Mr Zagarola previously said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is "not on the agenda", but will be in the future.

The luxury yacht's captain, James Cutfield, has reportedly been questioned by authorities in connection with the sunken vessel.

A helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles, naval units and cave divers were used during the search operation.

Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank as the area was hit by a storm.

The wreckage of the superyacht is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres (164ft).

Prosecutors in the nearby town Termini Imerese are scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday morning.

Family issue photo with their tribute

The Lynch family also issued a photograph of Mike and Hannah alongside their tribute, PA has reported.

Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, said the search for Hannah was not "easy or quick", comparing the sunken yacht to an "18-storey building full of water".

The bodies of all six missing passengers have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.

Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 - including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares - were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat.

The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.

The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch's acquittal in a fraud case in the US.

The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

Lynch family 'in shock' after Sicily tragedy

The family of Mike and Hannah Lynch, who died after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, have said they are "devastated" and "in shock".

On Friday, 18-year-old Hannah became the final missing passenger to be recovered from the wreckage of the Bayesian superyacht.

The discovery comes as unconfirmed reports in the Italian media have said that prosecutors are set to announce a manslaughter investigation into the incident.

The pair, alongside Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am local time on Monday.

In a statement, Mike and Hannah's family said: "The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends.

"Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.

Hannah praised for her love of 'learning, literature and life' in heartfelt tribute

Hannah Lynch's former teacher has praised her love for "learning, literature and life" in a heartfelt tribute.

Jon Mitropoulos-Monk reflected on Hannah's exceptional qualities, saying: "I've never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did."

He fondly recalled her impact in the classroom, adding: "She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance)."

"She loved literature, learning and life. She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards."

"I taught Hannah for four years. I will remember her for what she taught me: kindness, compassion and commitment."

Hannah Lynch, 18, received her A-level results last week and had secured a place at Oxford.

The Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London, where she was a pupil, said everyone was "incredibly shocked" following the tragedy.

Family releases first picture of Mike Lynch and daughter Hannah after boat tragedy

Search crews 'recover body of final missing person'.

Search crews have recovered the final body from the wreckage of the yacht.

A green body bag was seen being brought to Porticello from the site of the sinking at just before 1pm local time.

Hannah Lynch, 18, daughter of British tycoon Mike Lynch, was the last of six people missing.

Efforts to recover body of final missing person 'in progress'

Salvatore Cocina, the head of Sicily's civil protection agency, has said that efforts to recover the body of the final person missing from the superyacht are "in progress".

The only individual who remained unaccounted for was 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, daughter of British tycoon Mike Lynch.

Shortly after midday local time, several boats carrying divers departed from Porticello, heading to the site where the yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

Italian divers 'find body of last missing person'

Italian divers have found a body in the search for missing 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, according to Reuters news agency.

Hannah, the daughter of tech tycoon Mike, was the last of six passengers missing from the sinking off the coast of Sicily on Monday.

Hannah was a bright student who had recently secured a place to read English at Oxford.

Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am local time on Monday.

Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 - including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares - were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat.

Search for tycoon's daughter has not been 'easy or quick'

A spokesman for the Italian Coastguard said the search for the British tycoon Mike Lynch's daughter Hannah has not been “easy or quick”, comparing the sunken yacht to an “18-storey building full of water”.

Vincenzo Zagarola told the PA news agency: “From the first moment it has not been easy or quick to inspect the boat.

“Think of an 18-storey building full of water.”

'Manslaughter probe is launched' over sinking of Bayesian superyacht

Italian authorities have reportedly launched a formal investigation into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian off the Sicilian coast.

The Prosecutor's Office of Termini Imerese, under the leadership of Ambrogio Cartosio, is probing the circumstances that led to the vessel's capsizing near Palermo shortly before 5am on Monday.

According to Italian media reports, the investigators are looking into offences of "shipwreck and multiple culpable homicide" against "unknown persons". These charges are comparable to manslaughter in the UK legal system.

Prosecutors will hold press conference tomorrow

Authorities in Termini Imerese, a town close to the site of the Bayesian superyacht disaster, have announced a press conference scheduled for tomorrow morning.

This comes amid reports that the local public prosecutor's office is collecting evidence that could lead to a criminal investigation into the yacht's sinking.

Mum and baby were on top deck when storm hit

A mother who held her baby daughter above the waves as the Bayesian sank was sleeping on the top deck as the deadly storm hit.

Charlotte Golunski, a partner at London-based venture capitalist firm Invoke Capital, was one of 15 people rescued after the tragedy.

The 35-year-old held daughter Sofia “with all her strength” as tragedy struck, said a doctor.

Dr Domenico Cipolla, head of paediatric care at the Di Cristina Children's Hospital in Palermo, told Sky News: “She said she was sleeping withthe child on deck while her husband was a further away in another part of the boat.

“She felt the oscillations of the ship and in an instant it was dark. She found herself in the water in just a few minutes.

“She said she tried to hold on to the child but lost the child from her grip for three seconds. She then managed to catch her in the water.'

Her partner, James Emsley, is recovering in hospital, he added.

Moving a metre within wreckage can take a day, says fire service

The search efforts inside the sunken superyacht Bayesian are progressing at an extremely slow pace, according to fire service spokesman Luca Cari.

In a statement to Sky News, Cari highlighted the challenges faced by the specialist teams, saying: "It's very difficult to move inside the wreckage."

Illustrating the painstaking nature of the operation, he added: "Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours."

Raising Bayesian 'will cost 15 million euros and take up to eight weeks'

Nick Sloane, renowned for leading the Costa Concordia salvage operation in 2012, saysraising the Bayesian superyacht from the seabed off Sicility would cost approximately 15 million euros and take between six to eight weeks.

Sloane outlined the complex operation, whichwould require about 40 specialised divers and a large platform towed to the site.

A massive crane would then be used to lift the yacht, but with extreme caution. "If the yacht is pulled up too quickly it could buckle and breakup under the huge pressure of seawater inside it," Sloane explained.

The plan would involve removing the yacht's75-metre high mast before attempting to lift the vessel.

Sloane told La Repubblica newspaper: "I would say it would cost up to 15 million euros but possibly you could do it for a bit less."

Regarding the timeline, he added, "The recovery operation would take six to eight weeks. It could be completed before the second half of October."

Search operations continue, rescue service says

Italy's fire and rescue service has announced that the search for the last missing person from the superyacht disaster is still underway.

In a recent tweet, they confirmed that underwater search operations have resumed, describing the ongoing efforts as "long and delicate."

The service also shared images of rescue teams on boats, gearing up for another round of dives in their tireless pursuit to locate the final missing individual.

What we know so far

Here's a bullet-point summary to get you up to speed on the superyacht tragedy:

• A superyacht called the Bayesian sank off the coast of Italy on Monday
• Current toll: 7 believed dead, 15 survivors
• Among the confirmed dead is tech magnate Mike Lynch
• Other victims include Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, and Chris and Neda Morvillo
• Survivors are recuperating at a hotel in Porticello
• Sicily Investigators are examining why the Bayesian sank while a nearby sailboat was unaffected
• The fifth body was recovered and brought to Porticello port on Thursday
• Italian coastguard is optimistic about Friday's search efforts for 18-year-old Hannah Lynch
• No immediate plans to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed
• Tory MP David Davis vows to campaign against the US-UK extradition treaty in Lynch's memory

Tributes pour in for tech tycoon Mike Lynch

Mike Lynch, the British tycoon lost in the superyacht disaster, has been hailed as "a giant of a man" and a "visionary" as tributes poured in from the worlds of business and technology.

The 59-year-old was one of the creators of software giant Autonomy, which became one of the most prominent technology firms on the planet.

Co-founder David Tabizel said: "The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man."

Eleanor Lightbody, chief executive of legal AI company Luminance, said in a statement: "Mike was a visionary unlike any other. He had a unique ability to spot the next technological revolution and solve tomorrow's challenges before others even knew they were coming.

"Beyond that, it was his connection to people that made him special.

"He had a steadfast belief in the UK's technology sector, in our incredible academic institutions, and in the talent he took the time to spot and nurture, regardless of background or discipline.

"Above all, Mike was a kind man...and will be sorely missed."

Pictured: Search resumes for Hannah Lynch

Italian coast guard ‘trust’ there will be progress.

The Italian coast guard has expressed optimism about Friday's search for Hannah Lynch.

When questioned about potential developments, spokesman Vincenzo Zagarola said: "We trust".

Superyacht crew ‘had 16-minute window’ to avoid tragedy

The crew of tech billionaire Mike Lynch's luxury yacht had a narrow 16-minute window to avert disaster, according to the Italian Sea Group's CEO Giovanni Costantino.

The company, which owns the Perini Navi shipyard where the ill-fated Bayesian was constructed, maintains the vessel's build quality was not at fault.

Costantino instead points to human error as the cause of the tragedy.He told The Financial Times: “The torture lasted 16 minutes. It went down, not in one minute as some scientists have said. It went down in 16 minutes. You can see it from the charts, from the AIS [Automatic Identification System] tracking chart.

“The captain should have prepared the boat and put it in a state of alert and of safety, just like the boat [the Sir Robert Baden Powell] anchored 350 metres away, which was built in 1957 and handled the [weather] event brilliantly.”

Search continues for tycoon's daughter

The search is continuing for 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, the final person missing from the wreck of the Bayesian.

The body of her father, tech tycoon Mike Lynch, was recovered on Thursday, while his wife Angela Bacares survived that sunk the boat they were on on Monday.

Divers paused their efforts at 8pm off the coast of Sicily last night and the seach effort resumed on Friday morning.

Family clings to hope of air pocket in sunken superyacht as debris hampers search

PORTICELLO, Sicily — Divers searching for six missing people from a superyacht which sank off the coast of Sicily told NBC News Wednesday that debris inside the vessel, as well as its depth, were making their job difficult.  

As hopes of finding anyone alive dwindled, the divers said that they had managed to force open one of the Bayesian’s access doors but access to the cabins where people could be trapped was being hampered by detritus. 

The divers, who were not authorized to speak publicly, added that the depth of the wreck meant they were left with only 10 minutes to search the 184-foot yacht once they reached it. Then they had to return to the surface, they said. 

On Wednesday, the dock where they set off from was swarming with vehicles, boats and rescuers. Nearby tourists, reporters and photographers have gathered, eager for news. Helicopters occasionally fly over the area.  

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and five of the 22 other people who were aboard the yacht remain unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped in the Bayesian’s hull, nearly 170 feet underwater.

Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda, are also missing. 

Officials confirmed Monday that at least one person, the ship’s cook, had died. 

Rescuers said Tuesday that there might be people trapped inside the cabins, especially considering the timing of the storm, but that they had so far been unable to check through the ship’s portholes.

“The operations are long and complex,” Italy’s national fire department, whose diving teams have been participating in the search, said on X . 

Italy's coast guard also said Tuesday that divers were also using a remotely-operated underwater vehicle to aid in the search.

The Bayesian is owned by a firm linked to Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who was one of the 15 people rescued Monday after it capsized near Sicily’s main city of Palermo in what Italian officials called a “violent storm.” 

Built by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in 2008, the U.K.-registered Bayesian could carry 12 guests and a crew of up to 10, according to online specialist yacht sites. Its nearly 250-foot mast is the tallest aluminum sailing mast in the world, according to CharterWorld Luxury Yacht Charters.  

Lynch, who was regularly described in U.K. media as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” was acquitted by a San Francisco jury of fraud charges stemming from the 2011 sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion.

Prosecutors alleged that Lynch and Autonomy’s vice president for finance, Stephen Chamberlain, had padded the firm’s finances ahead of the sale. Lynch’s lawyers argued that HP was so eager to acquire Autonomy that it failed to adequately check the books .

The Mediterranean sailing vacation was designed to be a celebration for Lynch, who brought Morvillo, one of his U.S. lawyers and Bloomer, who testified in his defense, on the trip.

Bloomer’s twin brother, Jeremy, told the BBC on Tuesday the family was “coping the best we can” and he was hopeful there might still be air pockets inside the hull. 

Chamberlain was not aboard the Bayesian.

In what appears to be a tragic coincidence, a car struck and killed Chamberlain on Saturday as he was jogging in a village about 68 miles north of London, local police said.

Claudio Lavanga and Claudia Rizzo reported from Porticello and Yuliya Talmazan from London. 

Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.

Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

Sailing yachts like Mike Lynch's are 'unsinkable bodies', CEO of boat manufacturing firm says

Bayesian superyacht which sank off Italy is an "unsinkable" vessel, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, said.

By Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent and Eleonora Chiarella, producer

Thursday 22 August 2024 15:27, UK

Vessels like Mike Lynch's stricken superyacht are "unsinkable", according to the chief executive of the firm which makes and sells them.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, told Sky News there are no flaws with the design and construction of the Bayesian superyacht which capsized in a storm off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Monday.

Five bodies were found by divers on Wednesday - taking the number of confirmed dead to six.

The Italian Sea Group also owns the firm that built British tech tycoon Mr Lynch's Bayesian, and Mr Costantino said the vessels "are the safest in the most absolute sense".

"Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats], I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built," he said.

"And as Perini is a sailing ship... sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever."

He said their structure and keel made them "unsinkable bodies".

Read more on this story: Why search of superyacht wreck has been so difficult Hero mum 'slept with baby on deck when storm sank yacht'

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Mr Costantino said news of the sinking "put me in a state of sadness on one side and of disbelief on the other".

"This incident sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," he said.

It is understood Italian prosecutors investigating the incident are continuing to hold interviews with the survivors.

On Tuesday they questioned the captain for more than two hours to help reconstruct what happened and provide useful technical details.

Four British inspectors are also in Porticello and have begun a preliminary assessment of events.

It is understood they will look at all relevant aspects of the incident, including the design, stability, and operation of the vessel. They will also examine the effects of the weather conditions experienced.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Twenty-two people were on board the vessel, 15 of whom were rescued - including Briton Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter Sofia.

Divers will resume efforts on Thursday morning to bring ashore a body they found earlier. One more person remains missing.

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Sicily yacht capsize: kiwis on board luxury boat that sank.

An Italian fire brigade helicopter and Coastguard boats are searching for six people missing after a yacht sank off the coast of Porticello, in Sicily, on August 19, 2024. Photo: AFP / Italian Coastguard

Two New Zealanders were on board a luxury yacht that has sunk off the Sicilian capital Palermo in Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says.

One person died and six people are missing.

Ayla Ronald, a New Zealander working in London as a lawyer survived the capsizing, her father Lin Ronald has confirmed.

MFAT has also confirmed a second New Zealander was on board.

However, a spokesperson said there was no reason to believe the New Zealanders are among the missing.

The embassy in Rome was providing consular assistance.

The missing include UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter.

Lin Ronald told RNZ his daughter was alive and well, but shaken.

His daughter has been working in London at one of the UK's top law firms, Clifford Chance.

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He confirmed Wall Street Journal reports she had worked on Lynch's long-running fraud case in the US over the sale of his company to Hewlett Packard.

The yacht trip was to celebrate Lynch's legal win in the wake of serious charges, including fraud.

Regarding the yacht sinking, Lin Ronald said it was "a very unusual very rapid incident which is very sad for all involved".

Mike Lynch and Ayla Ronald. Photo: AFP / Clifford Chance

The luxury yacht was struck by an unexpectedly violent storm and sank off Sicily early on Monday (local time).

The British-flagged Bayesian , a 56-metre-long sailboat, was carrying 22 people and was anchored just off shore near the port of Porticello when it was hit by ferocious weather, the Italian coast guard said in a statement.

Eyewitnesses said the yacht vanished quickly beneath the waves shortly before dawn. Fifteen people escaped before it went down, including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, who owned the boat, and a one-year-old girl.

The names of the dead and missing were not immediately released, but a person familiar with the rescue operation confirmed that Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, were not accounted for.

Salvatore Cocina, head of the Civil Protection in Sicily said Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance were also among the missing people.

Italian media said the dead man was the yacht's onboard chef.

The Italian coast guard said the missing had British, American and Canadian nationalities. Survivors said the trip had been organised by Lynch for his work colleagues.

"The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but not of this magnitude," a coast guard official in the Sicilian capital Palermo told Reuters.

The captain of a nearby boat told Reuters that when the winds surged, he had turned on the engine to keep control of his vessel and avoid a collision with the Bayesian , which had been anchored alongside him.

"We managed to keep the ship in position and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone," Karsten Borner told journalists. The other boat "went flat on the water, and then down," he added.

He said his crew then found some of the survivors on a life raft - including a baby girl and her mother - and took them on board before the coast guard picked them up.

Divers inspect wreck

The coast guard said divers were inspecting the wreck of the Bayesian , which was lying at a depth of 49 metres.

Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation to look into what had gone wrong.

Storms and heavy rainfall have swept down Italy in recent days after weeks of scorching heat, which had lifted the temperature of the Mediterranean sea to record levels, raising the risk of extreme weather conditions, experts said.

"The sea surface temperature around Sicily was around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), which is almost 3 degrees more than normal. This creates an enormous source of energy that contributes to these storms," said meteorologist Luca Mercalli.

"We can't say that this is all due to global warming but we can say that it has an amplifying effect," he told Reuters.

The Bayesian was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and was last refitted in 2020. Its 75-metre mast is the tallest aluminium mast in the world, Perini said on its website.

The Bayesian which is owned by UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch sank off the coast of Sicily during a storm. Photo: VesselFinder

The shipspotting.com website said the boat was owned by a firm called Revtom Limited. Lynch's wife Bacares is named as the sole shareholder of the firm on company documents.

The yacht's name would resonate with Lynch because his PhD thesis and the software that made his fortune was based on Bayesian theory.

The ship won a string of awards for its design and can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and a crew of 10, according to online specialist yacht sites.

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on 14 August and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, with a navigation status of "at anchor", according to vessel tracking app Vesselfinder.

Lynch defeated US fraud charges

Lynch spent more than a decade building Britain's biggest software company and then almost as long again fighting fraud charges related to its multi-billion pound sale.

Lynch founded Autonomy from his ground-breaking research at Cambridge University in 1996, and was lauded by shareholders, scientists and politicians when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $US11 billion ($NZ18b) 15 years later.

But in late 2012, HP stunned Wall Street and the City of London by alleging a massive accounting scandal at the business, and writing off $8.8b of its value.

Lynch, known for an abrasive intellectual charm, said HP did not know what it was doing with Autonomy, which searched and organised data using patented algorithms based on a mathematics developed in the 18th century by Reverend Thomas Bayes.

He spent the next 12 years in courts trying to clear his name, locked in some of the biggest legal battles in corporate history.

Italian Carabinieri patrol the port as the search continues for six passengers missing from a sailboat that sank off the coast of Porticello, north-western Sicily continues. Photo: AFP

HP pursued Lynch in London's High Court for $5b. It won most of its case in 2022 and is still awaiting the award of damages.

The judge found that Lynch and another colleague had fraudulently concealed a "fire sale" of hardware and engaged in convoluted reselling schemes to mask a shortfall in sales of Autonomy's software, the business HP coveted.

US authorities filed criminal charges including wire fraud and conspiracy against Lynch and sought his extradition.

The British government came under pressure from Lynch's supporters to block the application. If found guilty, Lynch could have faced decades in jail.

But the appeals failed, and Lynch took the stand in San Francisco in his own defence, where he denied wrongdoing and told jurors that HP had botched the integration of Autonomy.

He was acquitted on all charges and freed after a year under house arrest. Lynch said he was "elated".

"I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field," he said.

A Coast Guard boat and an Italian fireboat search for people missing after a superyacht sank off the coast of Porticello, northwestern Sicily, on 19 August 2024. Photo: AFP / ANSA / Igor Petyx

A person familiar with the rescue effort said Lynch and his wife, Angela Bacares, were on the 56-metre long British-registered Bayesian sailboat when it was struck by an unexpectedly violent storm and sank off the Sicilian capital Palermo early on Monday.

The yacht was owned by Lynch's family and had 22 people on board when it sank just before sunrise.

Lynch was born in 1965 and was raised in Chelmsford near London where his mother was a nurse and his father a fireman. He said his parents instilled in him an appreciation of the value of education.

At Cambridge University, he studied physics, mathematics and biochemistry, and went on to research signal processing for his doctorate. His thesis is still one of the most widely consulted in the university's library, reports have said.

In 1996, Lynch founded Autonomy which searched and organised complex data such as emails, phones calls and video.

Lynch, who has a herd of rare breed cattle on his estate in Suffolk, East England, used some of the proceeds of the sale of Autonomy to set up venture capital firm Invoke.

It was a major backer of Darktrace, a British cyber security company that US firm Thoma Bravo agreed to buy for $5.32 billion in cash in April.

Reuters/ RNZ

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