Superyacht disaster raises security concerns

Rockville Centre native and defense attorney Chris Morvillo, 59, and his wife, Neda, were among seven victims recovered after the luxury yacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily on Aug. 19. The $40 million yacht, owned by British tech mogul Mike Lynch, capsized during a sudden storm, killing Lynch, his daughter Hannah, and five others.

In a new development, Italian prosecutors have ordered heightened security around the wreckage due to concerns that sensitive data stored aboard may interest foreign governments.

According to CNN, the 184-foot Bayesian is believed to contain water-tight safes holding two super-encrypted hard drives. The hard drives, likely belonging to Lynch, could include classified information linked to Western intelligence services.

Lynch, a founder of the cybersecurity firm Darktrace, was connected to intelligence services in the U.S. and the U.K. and served as an adviser on cyber security for former British Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.

Specialist divers searching the wreck reported the vessel lying on the seabed at a depth of about 164 feet. Salvage operations, scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, are being monitored due to the potential interest of foreign governments, including Russia and China. Italian authorities confirmed to CNN that surveillance has been implemented above and below the water to secure the site.

Morvillo, a partner at Clifford Chance in New York City, represented Lynch in several high-profile cases, including his recent acquittal in a U.S. criminal fraud trial related to the sale of Lynch’s company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Bayesian cruise was intended to celebrate Lynch’s legal victory. Morvillo and his wife were invited aboard by Lynch as a gesture of gratitude following the trial’s conclusion.

Preliminary autopsy results, reported by CNN, indicate that Morvillo and his wife died from suffocation or “dry drowning,” likely caused by an air bubble trapped in their sleeping cabin. The yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found outside the vessel and died by drowning. While no physical injuries were observed on the victims, toxicology reports are still pending.

The Italian Coast Guard rescued 15 passengers, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares. Among those who survived was the ship’s captain, James Cutfield, 51, who is under investigation for multiple manslaughter charges and negligent shipwreck, along with two crew members. The exact cause of the sinking remains under investigation, though The New York Times reported that the yacht sank within 16 minutes of the storm hitting.

Lynch was also dealing with personal tragedy before the incident. His business partner, Stephen Chamberlain, who was also a co-defendant in Lynch’s U.S. fraud case, died after being hit by a car on the same day the Bayesian sank, CNN reported. Lynch had planned to end the cruise early to visit Chamberlain, who had been on life support.

Divers are working to ensure that any sensitive data aboard the yacht, including Lynch’s hard drives, does not fall into the wrong hands. Investigators have recovered surveillance cameras and navigational data from the yacht to determine how the vessel sank so quickly.

The costs of raising the yacht will be covered by Lynch’s widow, as required by Italian maritime law, and precautions are being taken to prevent any environmental damage from the 18,000 liters of oil and fuel still on board.