Overview

• Recovery operations for the Bayesian yacht, which sank in August 2024 near Porticello, Sicily, have been suspended following the death of a diver on May 9, 2025.
• Robcornelis Maria Huijben Uiben, a 39-year-old Dutch diver, died while attempting to sever a beam from the yacht’s mast using an oxy-fuel torch at a depth of 49 meters.
• Investigators suspect that an explosion caused by hydrogen bubbles combined with the torch’s flame may have led to the fatal accident, though this remains unconfirmed pending an autopsy.
• The Procura di Termini Imerese has launched a formal investigation and seized the accident site, delaying the month-long salvage operation indefinitely.
• The salvage aims to recover the yacht and its mast for forensic analysis to determine the causes of the 2024 sinking, which resulted in seven fatalities.