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The story of Donald Trump’s superyacht: The Trump Princess

Donald Trump loves a good deal

In 1988, the successful businessman Donald Trump bought the 86m Benetti build superyacht Nabila . He renamed her Trump Princess and used it until 1991.

For a superyacht built in 1980, Nabila was an impressive vessel. She was built for Saudi billionaire Adnan Khashoggi that paid $100 million for it and named after his daughter. Khashoggi is known for his involvement in arms dealing. His net worth was around $4 billion in the early 1980's.

When Khashoggi ran into financial trouble in the mid-1980's he took a loan of $50 million and put Nabila as collateral. He defaulted on the loan in 1987 and a Swiss holding company took possession of the yacht. It was placed with yacht specialist Burgess for a quick sale at an asking price of $50 million.

Learning that Nabila is for sale, Trump made a bid. Burgess had already two other offers, but Trump's bid was more appealing. A Burgess agent flew to New York and made Trump a proposal for $32 million. The sale was settled at $30 million. A bargain, for a yacht he never set foot on.

Trump refitted the vessel and named it Trump Princess .

Why did Trump buy the yacht? He does not like water sports, he's not keen on swimming and always tried to avoid the sun. He never owned a big boat before. He doesn't even like boats.

He was charmed by a "certain level of quality" and admitted that it's an incredible toy and a work of art. "I was buying a great piece of art at a ridiculously low price."

Unlike Trump, Khashoggi loved boats. He acquired his first yacht when his was 18 and traded up as his wealth increased.

In the 70's he owned two yachts but wanted something out of this world. So, he commissioned British designer Jon Bannenberg to draw the most impressive and sumptuous yacht.

Khashoggi didn't stop here he employed Italian designer Luigi Sturchio to produce an interior that is believed to have cost more than the yacht itself.

Also, he wanted the ship to be completely self-contained and included everything in the specifications: from a patisserie and a hair salon to a cinema room with an 800-film library and a hospital with an operating room.

Nabila had crew quarters for a staff of 52 people. It had a helicopter landing pad and two nine meter tenders. The fuel tanks were big enough for 8,500 nautical miles when cruising at 17.5 knots. It had three water-makers capable to produce 45.000 liters of fresh water from the ocean. Also, it had six huge refrigerators that could store a three-month supply of food for 100 people.

For Khashoggi and later for Trump, this vessel was an invaluable business instrument. Movie stars, political leaders and diplomats were invited on board. It is believed the yacht had 150 telephones and satellite communications in order for business sales to be arranged.

The yacht has five decks and more than 100 separate areas. The owner's suite is a full-beam area with a three meter wide bed. It has a dressing room and an impressive bathroom with onyx tiles. Next to the bedroom, there is a television room, a large sitting area and a private elevator that takes the owner to his private sundeck. The yacht has another two elevators on board, one for guests, one for crew.

Trump spent another $8.5 million for refitting the yacht at Amels in the Netherlands. Renamed Trump Princess , she set sail from the Azores to arrive in New York on July 4, 1988, in time for a huge party Trump threw on the yacht.

Like the previous owner, Trump used the yacht mostly for business. But not for long. In 1991, Trump sold the ship to Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal for $20 million. The Prince renamed the yacht Kingdom 5KR , the name under she still sails today.

For more about Donald Trump's Joy Rides click here .

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The Legendary Nabila   Yacht

The Nabila yacht was built at Benetti's shipyards in Viareggio and delivered in 1980. Measuring 281 feet and featuring 11 suites, a cinema and helipad, she was one of the world's largest yachts at the time and without doubt the most opulent. In 1983 the Nabila played an important role in the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again ; a few years later she was seized by the Sultan of Brunei and sold to Donald Trump.

She was bought by her current owner, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, in 1991. The photo below shows her berthed at Antibes, France.

Adnan Khashoggi

The Nabila was commissioned in 1978 by billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Named after Khashoggi's daughter, she was built at Benetti's shipyards in Viareggio and delivered in July 1980. Interior design was managed by Luigi Sturchio; the exterior was designed by English-Australian yacht designer Jon Bannenberg . The yacht was powered by twin Nohap Polar engines, giving her a cruising speed of 17 knots and a top speed of 20 knots.

The Nabila soon became known the world over for her sumptuous interiors, opulent suites and ostentatious luxury. The yacht spanned 5 five decks and featured every conceivable amenity. The 11 suites were paneled with chamois leather and bird's-eye maple; bathrooms were decked out in gold and onyx. Khashoggi's suite not only had its own saloon, office and sauna, it also had an elevator that went up to a private sun lounge.

The main saloon featured a waterfall, bronze bar, and grand piano gifted to Khashoggi's wife by Liberace. Other amenities included a 12-seat cinema, a disco, and a medical clinic with its own operating theatre. No one really knows how much the yacht cost to build, though some estimates give $35 million for the exterior and $50 million for the interiors.

It's a spectacle, a statement of astronomic wealth, a massive piece of equipment designed to arouse envy in those who behold it.

New York Magazine, 1988

The Nabila had a major impact on the global yachting scene and changed the industry in two significant ways. First, her flamboyant Saudi Arabian owner inspired other Middle Eastern businessmen to commission luxury yachts of their own. The trend began in the early 1980s and continues to this day. Second, her innovative design and extravagant interiors opened eyes to what could truly be achieved if money were no object.

The Nabila yacht had 11 suites, all named after precious stones or metals. The bedroom shown here is the Ruby Suite. The other photo shows part of the main saloon, with the bronze bar visible on the left.

Khashoggi and Benetti: Financial Ruin

Adnan Khashoggi often claimed to be the world's richest man and at times spent up to $250,000 a day to support his lifestyle. He started experiencing cash flow problems in the early 1980s, however, and towards the end of the decade the debt bubble burst. First to go was his private DC-8. The jet was grounded in 1986 when he defaulted on a $15 million loan. Following that, he defaulted on a $50 million loan issued by a Swiss bank and guaranteed by the Sultan of Brunei. The loan had been used to finance the construction of the Nabila .

The Sultan settled the loan himself, seized control of the Nabila and promptly put the yacht on the market. A handful of potential buyers took interest – one of whom was a New York real estate developer named Donald Trump.

The Nabila also took its toll on Benetti. The shipyard had seriously undervalued the costs of constructing the yacht and was hit hard by a series of penalty clauses added to the contract by Khashoggi's negotiators. The contract was overtly biased in Khashoggi's favor, and even allowed him to request changes during the final construction stages. Ultimately the yacht was built at a loss, and by 1985 Benetti was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.

A young Italian named Paolo Vitelli stepped in. Sixteen years earlier Paolo had founded Azimut Yachts and built the company into a global brand. In a bid to rescue Benetti and take control of their Viagreggio shipyards, he invested every cent he had to bail out the ailing giant. It was a huge risk, but one that paid off. The new company became known as the Azimut Benetti Group and the rest, as they say, is history.

On the subject of history, remember Sean Connery's role in the James Bond movie, Never Say Never again ? The Nabila yacht is shown at bottom right.

The Trump Princess

The Sultan of Brunei's broker put the Nabila up for sale in 1987 with an asking price of $50 million. Donald Trump offered $15 million, the broker dropped to 32, Trump countered with 28, they settled on 30. A further million was taken off when Trump agreed not to keep the name Nabila and rename the yacht as he saw fit. Until this deal took place, the highest price paid for a secondhand yacht was $16 million.

Trump had actually had his eyes on the Nabila for quite a while. He'd been expanding his casino empire in Atlantic City and realized the Nabila could function both as a business tool and tourist attraction.

While I was building Farley Marina I was trying to get the boat because I knew she would blow everybody's mind.

Donald Trump

Trump renamed the yacht Trump Princess and spent $8.5 million having her refitted. The hull was repainted, the engines rebuilt and more than 3500 yards of chamois leather stripped out and replaced. As a finishing touch, the letter H on the helipad was swapped for a T. When done, the yacht set sail for America and cruised into New York on July 4 1988.

In April 1990 Trump opened his third gambling resort in Atlantic City, the $1 billion Taj Mahal. It was New Jersey's tallest building and the world's largest casino. But to survive it needed to take more than $1 million per day just to service its loans, and the market simply wasn't there. Trump's lenders intervened. They insisted he restructure his organization and sell the Trump Princess . Once again, Adnan Khashoggi's superyacht was up for sale.

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bought the yacht in 1991 for $19 million. One of the world's richest men, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is founder, CEO and majority stock owner of the Kingdom Holding Company, a company with global interests that include financial services, media, agriculture and real estate. After taking possession of the Trump Princess , Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal renamed the yacht Kingdom 5KR , where 5 represents his lucky number and the letters K and R are the initials of his children. Since the acquisition, Kingdom 5KR is almost permanently berthed at Antibes in the south of France, though from time to time she ventures out to nearby Cannes and Monte Carlo.

The Kingdom 5KR is shown below. The exhaust funnels have been a distinctive feature of this yacht ever since she was launched. They are angled outwards to accommodate the helicopter.

Pinnacle Marine New Zealand

Pinnacle Marine has years of practical experience dealing with luxury yachts and is supported by a network of contacts throughout the industry. If you would like more information about the Azimut Benetti Group, or anything else connected with luxury yachts, please get in touch.

Buettner, Russ; Bagli, Charles V. (2016), How Donald Trump Bankrupted His Atlantic City Casinos, but Still Earned Millions , New York Times

Kessler, Ronald (1986), The Richest Man in the World: The Story of Adnan Khashoggi , Hachette Book Group , ISBN: 978-1-5387-6254-7

Rempel, William C. (1987), Latest Financial Setback for Billionaire Saudi Arms Dealer: Sultan of Brunei Seizes Khashoggi Yacht , LA Times

Taylor, John (1988), Trump's Newest Toy , New York Magazine , 20-26, ISSN: 0028-7369

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Nabila Khashoggi

American businesswoman Nabila Khashoggi photographed alongside the 270-foot yacht ‘Nabila’ for Town & Country magazine, July 1984. In 1983 the ‘Nabila’ starred in the James Bond movie ‘Never Say Never Again’, and was later sold to Donald Trump.

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Superyacht maker's CEO: Bayesian's crew made an 'incredible mistake'

The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was recovered Thursday from his family's superyacht that sank off the coast of Italy after it encountered a sudden and powerful storm, authorities said.

After four bodies were recovered from the wreck Wednesday, Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, remains the only person unaccounted for, Massimo Mariani, of Italy's interior ministry, told Reuters. Her body may have been swept out to sea, Mariani said.

It could take divers more time to find her body because of the difficulties of accessing the sunken ship more than 160 feet down, said Luca Cari, a fire brigade spokesperson. Rescuers faced a challenging task in scouring extremely deep and narrow spaces around the boat.

Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of Italian ship manufacturer Perini, which made the ship in 2008, told Reuters on Thursday, "The boat suffered a series of indescribable, unreasonable errors."

He said the crew made an "incredible mistake" in not preparing for the storm, even though it was announced in a shipping forecast earlier. "This is the mistake that cries out for vengeance," he said.

Lynch, 59, was best known as the co-founder of Britain’s largest enterprise software, Autonomy, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. He had invited his friends on the yacht to celebrate his acquittal in June of fraud charges related to the sale of Autonomy.

The Bayesian, a 184-feet-long British-registered sailboat, went down just before sunrise Monday off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, where it was anchored when a strong storm swept across the area. Of the 22 passengers and crew members on board, 15, including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were pulled from the water Monday, and several were hospitalized. Divers then recovered the body of Ricardo Thomas, the yacht's chef, near the ship.

Who were among the missing?

An exhaustive search ensued for six missing people: Lynch and his daughter; Judy and Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Jonathan Bloomer was a character witness at Lynch’s fraud trial, and Chris Morvillo, an American citizen, was part of the team that represented Lynch.

Hannah, the younger of Lynch's two daughters, was preparing to study English literature at Oxford University, according to the Sunday Times.

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Investigation opened into the tragedy

Local prosecutors have opened an investigation into the disaster and will hold a press conference on Saturday.

Costantino said there were no errors in the ship's construction or design. "It went down because it took on water. From where, the investigators will tell," he said.

The ship, owned by Lynch's wife, Bacares, was constructed in accordance with international maritime standards and commercially certified by the U.K.'s Maritime and Coastguard Agency, according to Matthew Schanck, chairman of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council. It was refitted for the second time in 2020.

Experts have pointed to  a waterspout, a tornado over the water that can travel up to 120 mph, that formed during the storm, as well as the weight of the ship's mast, one of the largest in the world, as possible factors in its sinking.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci , USA TODAY ; Reuters

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Putin rattled after Moscow ‘under attack from biggest ever drone strike’

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Moscow came under one of the largest attacks yet by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, further rattling Vladimir Putin as he attempts to fight Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region.

The Ministry of Defence claimed that Russia downed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 11 destroyed over the Moscow region, 23 over the Bryansk region, six over Belgorod, three over Kaluga and two over Kursk.

Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel: ‘This was one of the biggest attempts of all time to attack Moscow using drones.’ 

He said strong defences around the capital made it possible to shoot down all the drones before they could hit their intended targets.

Some Russian social media channels shared videos of drones apparently being destroyed by air defence systems, which then set off car alarms.

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, reported a ‘mass’ attack on his region but that 23 drones were destroyed.

While Ukraine has been bogged down in a land conflict in eastern Europe in which the Russians have been driving forward slowly at a heavy cost to both sides, Kyiv has also been attacking Russia with drones.

Ukraine has targeted oil refineries and airfields in an attempt to weaken Russia’s fighting potential, and has also targeted the capital several times.

The drone attacks come as Ukrainian forces are continuing to push into Russia’s western Kursk region.

The daring incursion into Russia has raised morale in Ukraine with its surprising success and changed the dynamic of the fighting.

But it is uncertain how long Ukraine will be able to hold the territory it has seized in Kursk.

It has also opened up another front in a fight where Ukrainian forces were already badly stretched.

The gains in Kursk come as Ukraine continues to lose ground in its eastern industrial region of Donbas.

The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, said in its daily report late on Tuesday that the Ukrainians had made additional advances in their incursion, now in its third week.

The Russian state news agency Tass reported that 31 people had died since Ukraine’s attack on Russia began on August 6, citing an unnamed source in the medical service – figures which are impossible to verify.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

For more stories like this, check our news page .

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Mike Lynch’s Body Is Found After Sicily Yacht Sinking, Official Says

The authorities have recovered the bodies of all but one of the six people missing after disaster struck a yacht carrying the British software tycoon.

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By Emma Bubola and Elisabetta Povoledo

Emma Bubola reported from Porticello, Italy, and Elisabetta Povoledo from Pallanza, Italy.

The body of the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was among those recovered by Italian divers, an official in the Sicilian capital, Palermo, said on Thursday, confirming that he was killed when a violent storm struck his yacht this week.

Of the 22 people on board the yacht, which had anchored off the Sicilian coast early Monday, when it sank, nine crew members and six passengers survived.

As of Thursday afternoon, Italian recovery teams had retrieved the bodies of the one remaining crew member and five passengers who had been on the yacht, which now lies in 165 feet of water near the port of Porticello, and were searching for one more passenger.

The death of Mr. Lynch was confirmed by Massimo Mariani, the prefect of Palermo, who said that the remaining missing person was the technology entrepreneur’s daughter Hannah.

The others victims were Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Christopher J. Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

“This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder,” the Bloomer family said in a statement. “Our parents were incredible people.”

The Morvillo family said it was “completely devastated by the passing of Chris and Neda,” and added, “Their passing is a tremendous loss.”

The yacht was caught in a sudden downpour. Weather experts said that strong winds and lightning had hit the area and that the yacht had most likely been struck by air generated within a thunderstorm descending rapidly or by a waterspout , similar to a tornado over water.

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

Rescue teams involving deep sea divers with the Italian firefighters’ corps, coordinated by the coast guard, as well as helicopters and rescue ships, had worked to reach the hull of the ship, which had settled on its side on the sea floor.

Carlo Dall’Oppio, the national head of Italy’s firefighters, said on Thursday that the boat was tilted by 90 degrees on the sea bottom. He said the bodies had been found “in the cabins,” although it remained unclear if they were all found in the same one.

The rescue teams recovered four bodies on Wednesday and one on Thursday, bringing them ashore in body bags in front of a crowd of reporters and onlookers.

The priority remained “the recovery of the missing body,” said Mr. Mariani. Once that search is completed, the judicial authorities would decide the next steps, he said.

The bodies recovered so far were already at the disposal of prosecutors, he said, “and then there is the investigative phase,” which would include the recovery of the yacht.

The Italian prosecutors handling the case have attracted strong criticism from the local press association because of their reluctance to share any information with reporters.

As of Thursday, they had not held a news conference or released a statement on the investigation, generating what the Sicilian press association called “a black market of news” that made it hard to verify information.

Finally, on Thursday afternoon, Ambrogio Cartosio, the prosecutor handling the case, said that a news conference would be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the town of Termini Imerese, the location of his office.

Mr. Mariani said the operations to recover the bodies had gone quickly, taking into account that the divers had a limited amount of time — about 12 minutes — to operate before coming up.

“It was complicated and also potentially dangerous for the divers,” he said, because of the size of the yacht. “There are objective difficulties; thankfully, they are well trained and know what they are doing.”

Michael J. de la Merced contributed reporting from London.

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

Elisabetta Povoledo is a reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years. More about Elisabetta Povoledo

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Ukraine targets moscow in one of largest-ever drone attacks on russian capital as war intensifies.

Ukraine targeted Moscow with at least 11 drones on Wednesday, one of the biggest such attacks on the Russian capital since the war began. 

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it shot down a total of 45 drones over the country on Wednesday, with 11 intercepted over the Moscow region, 23 over Bryansk, six in Belgorod, three in Kaluga and two in Kursk. 

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said some of the drones were destroyed over the city Podlsk, just 24 miles south of the Kremlin headquarters. 

“This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever,” Sobyanin said on Telegram.

“The layered defense of Moscow that was created made it possible to successfully repel all the attacks from the enemy UAVs.”

Russian outlets aired unverified footage of several drones soaring overhead above Moscow before they were shot down by the Kremlin’s air defense system. 

Officials in the regions where the drones were spotted said no deaths or serious damage had been reported as a result of the drone strike.  

Main sites of the Ukrainian counteroffensive

• Melitopol:  Kyiv’s forces continued advancing toward the city of Melitopol on the Sea of Azov in the south. If Ukraine were to claw back Melitopol, it could bring it closer to breaking through the Russia-held land corridor linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula to mainland Russia, splitting Moscow’s forces in two and cutting their supply lines.
• Zaporizhzhia:  Intense battles raged in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, where US officials said Kyiv has launched its “main thrust” aimed at retaking 20% of its occupied territory. While Moscow claimed to have repelled Ukraine’s attacks involving dozens of armored vehicles and inflicted heavy losses on Kyiv’s troops, the Institute for the Study of War reported that the Ukrainian offensive appeared to have broken through some Russian defenses.
• Donetsk:  Ukrainian troops on Thursday recaptured the strategically significant village of Staromaiorske located in the Donetsk region south of a cluster of settlements along the Mokri Yaly river that Kyiv had seized at the start of the counteroffensive. Control of the village could open the way for Ukraine to push southward toward the coast.
• Bakhmut:  Ukrainian forces were said to be “gradually moving forward” near Bakhmut in the east, where Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar claimed Russians were dying at a rate eight times higher than Ukrainians. Geolocated footage showed that Kyiv’s troops have made gains south of the town of Klishchiivka, and additional fighting was reported near the settlements of Kudriumivka and Andriivka.

The attack was reminiscent of the May 2023 assault where eight drones were shot over Moscow in what Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed as Kyiv’s attempt to scare and provoke the Kremlin.  

Since the start of the year, Ukraine has stepped up its drone warfare against Russia, attacking oil refineries and airfields to slow the enemy invasion. 

The latest drone strikes come 15 days into Ukraine’s ground incursion in Kursk, where Kyiv has seized dozens of Russian towns and hundreds of square-miles of land past the border. 

Russia’s state media claims 31 people have died since the incursion began on Aug. 6, with official figures yet to be independently verified. 

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With more than 120,000 civilians fleeing neighboring towns, Russian officials have condemned the Ukrainian incursion and said “any possibility” for peace has passed. 

Who will negotiate with them after this, after the atrocities, the terror that they are committing against peaceful residents, the civilian population, civilian infrastructure and peaceful facilities,” said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. 

Kyiv has said it’s looking to establish a “buffer zone” in Russia after Ukraine took out three bridges in the region, hindering Moscow’s supply lines and redeployment efforts to fight off the invading soldiers. 

With Post wires 

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Live updates: Seven dead in 56m superyacht Bayesian sinking tragedy

Seven people have died in the Bayesian sinking disaster, according to the BBC. These include the six missing people who were inside the yacht when it sank, as well as a seventh person who was located shortly after the disaster. The seventh person is understood to be the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas. The other six are:

• British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, once dubbed 'Britain's Bill Gates'
• Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah
• Morgan Stanley's chairman, Jonathan Bloomer
• Judy Bloomer, wife of Morgan Stanley chairman
• Chris Morvillo, a lawyer working for London-based law firm Clifford Chance
• Neda Morvillo, an American jewellery designer and Chris' wife

It is understood that the yacht was being used to celebrate Lynch's recent victory in a 13-year £8 billion fraud acquittal.

No one remembers the mast snapping before 56m superyacht Bayesian sunk, says crew

No one recalls seeing the mast snap on board the 56-metre Perini Navi sailing yacht Bayesian which sank off the Italian island of Sicily on 19 August. The eyewitness account of a crewmember on board the vessel, which was obtained by BOAT International , said that the boat was struck by a freak weather event which led to the yacht heeling at around 20 degrees to starboard. As crewmembers were securing items, the heeling angle began to increase rapidly until the yacht started taking on water and sank rapidly.

The crewmembers who were up on deck were able to evacuate the yacht with minor injuries. The yacht is understood to have sunk in just twelve minutes, and it is believed that a "major ingress" of water from the top down would have caused the sinking, according to a captain who wishes to remain anonymous. This is based on the fact that no breaches have been reported in the yacht's hull, and the fact that the yacht should have been able to remain afloat with two flooded compartments.

"Very difficult to understand what could have overwhelmed a vessel of that size" says captain of sistership

The captain of the sistership to the sunken 56-metre Perini Navi sailing yacht Bayesian has said it is "very difficult to understand what could have overwhelmed a vessel of that size" and called the 56-metre Perini Navi series "bulletproof".

David Hutchinson, captain of Rosehearty , said he had taken the yacht around the world multiple times and he had "total faith in the boat".  "We've been to Antarctica and Chile, and we've had her in 70 knots of wind," he says, and the vessel had never put them in a situation that felt unmanageable.

However, Hutchinson noted there were differences between Bayesian and Rosehearty ; notably, Bayesian's  74-metre mast, which would have been heavier and added increased windage. The yacht's layout was also different, with guest accommodation on Bayesian located further forward.

Live updates

• A search and rescue for six missing people has concluded. The final missing person is understood to be Hannah Lynch. 
• According to Reuters, six bodies have now been found in the sunken yacht. These include Mike Lynch, a British technology entrepreneur who co-founded Autonomy Corporation and founded Invoke Capital, although Italian authorities have not confirmed this.  
• One person was found immediately after the yacht sunk, and this is understood to be the yacht's chef. 
• Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, and a one-year-old are among the fifteen people rescued along with Bayesian' s captain, James Cutfield.
• Another sailing vessel in the area, the 42-metre Sir Robert Baden Powell ,  stepped in to offer assistance in the initial rescue.
• Divers have been able to reach Bayesian' s sunken hull, which lies at 45 metres of depth about half a mile from the coast. The yacht had the largest aluminium masts of any sailing yacht on the water.
• Eyewitnesses in the area reported "hurricane" conditions off the coast but local weather websites did not indicate any severe squall, which suggests that the weather event was not forecast.
• At around 5am local time on 19 August, Bayesian was hit by bad weather and sunk.  The sailing yacht was anchored or idle at the time of the incident.

Built in Italy by renowned builder Perini Navi and delivered in 2008, the yacht's naval architecture was developed by Ron Holland Design while the interior design is by Rémi Tessier . She was formerly known as Salute and was last refitted in 2016. She was listed for sale earlier this year, according to BOATPro . The yacht had accommodation for nine guests and 12 crew.

BOAT International will update the story as it develops.

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Who was onboard tech mogul Mike Lynch's Bayesian yacht?

Topic: Disasters, Accidents and Emergency Incidents

Six people are missing, including a man dubbed the British Bill Gates, after a luxury yacht sank off the Sicilian coast.

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch — freshly acquitted from a decade-long trial — had invited his work colleagues aboard a trip through the Mediterranean coast when a freak storm saw the yacht sink within moments.

Fifteen people escaped from the sinking vessel. The search for the missing continues.

Here's what we know so far: 

What happened?

The Italian coastguard said the yacht — the Bayesian — was anchored off the shore of port city Porticello, near the Sicilian capital Palermo, when it was hit by bad weather sometime after 4am on Monday, local time. 

Eyewitnesses said it vanished quickly beneath the waves shortly before dawn.

Managers of the sailing vessel Bayesian, Camper & Nicholsons, confirmed to the ABC that the Bayesian encountered severe weather and subsequently sank. 

"Our priority is assisting with the ongoing search and providing all necessary support to the rescued passengers and crew," they said. 

"The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but not of this magnitude," a coastguard official told Reuters.

Sicily's civil protection agency head, Salvo Cocina, said a waterspout — a tornado over the water — could have struck the yacht.

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Mr Cocina added. 

Storms and heavy rainfall had swept down Italy in recent days after weeks of scorching heat, lifting the temperature of the Mediterranean Sea to record levels and raising the risk of extreme weather conditions, experts told Reuters.

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

Rescuers recover the body of one of the people aboard the Bayesian.  ( AP: Lucio Ganci )

Captain Karsten Borner of the Sir Robert Baden Powell vessel told journalists he noticed the Bayesian nearby during the storm, but after it calmed he saw a red flare and realised the ship had simply disappeared.

Mr Borner said he and a crew member boarded their tender and found a lifeboat with 15 people, some of them injured, who they then took aboard and alerted the coast guard.

Search crews, including helicopters and divers, are continuing to search the wreckage, lying at a depth of 49 metres.

Specialist divers reached the ship on Monday but access was limited due to objects in the way, the fire brigade said.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch is deploying a team of four inspectors to Italy to conduct a preliminary assessment.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development office said it was "providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families".

Sicilian prosecutors have also opened an investigation into the event. 

Who is missing?

Lawyer Chris Morvillo (left), entrepreneur Mike Lynch, and Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer are among the missing. 

There were 12 passengers and 10 crew members aboard the yacht. 

Mr Cocina said the crew and passengers hailed from a variety of countries, including Britain, the United States, Antigua, France, Germany, Ireland, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain.

Of the 22, one man is confirmed dead and another six people are still missing. 

They are believed to be inside the hull, fire rescue spokesperson Luca Cari said.

Fabio Cefalù, a fisherman who said he responded to a flare from the vessel but found it sunk, said he stayed at the site for three hours without finding anyone.

"I think they are inside, all the missing people," he said.

Rescue teams recovered the body of the yacht's onboard chef on Monday, identified as Antiguan citizen Ricardo Thomas.

The still missing people include: 

• Mr Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah 
• Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of global financial services company Morgan Stanley International
• Chris Morvillo , a lawyer at the British multinational law firm Clifford Chance. He worked on Mr Lynch's lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard
• The identities of the remaining two missing are still unconfirmed

Who was rescued? 

Fifteen people escaped from the sinking ship. 

Eight have been hospitalised and others were taken to a nearby hotel.

Charlotte Golunski was among those rescued, recalling the harrowing moments she held her child Sofia above the waves.  ( Supplied: Facebook  )

Among those rescued were:

• Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, who was the owner of the yacht
• Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter, Sofia. Ms Golunski is a partner at Mr Lynch's firm, Invoke Capital. She says she momentarily lost hold of Sofia in the water but managed to hold her up above the waves until the lifeboat was inflated
• Ms Golunski's husband James Emslie
• New Zealand captain of the yacht James Catfield. He told Italian newspaper La Repubblica the crew didn't see the storm coming
• A lone Dutch citizen was identified by the Dutch foreign ministry as being rescued, but was not identified

Who is Mike Lynch?

Mr Lynch, once hailed as Britain’s king of technology, was recently freed from a Silicon Valley lawsuit that tarnished his legacy. 

The 59-year-old Cambridge-educated mathematician created Autonomy , a search engine that could pore through emails and other internal business documents to help companies find vital information more quickly. 

He received the OBE for his innovation in 2006. 

He then sold the software to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $US11 billion ($16 billion) in 2011, with Mr Lynch personally netting $US800 million. 

HP valued Autonomy at $US46 billion ($68 billion) in the months leading up to the deal.

Mike Lynch in 2019 leaving the High Court in London.  ( Reuters: Henry Nicholls/File Photo )

But the deal quickly turned sour after he was accused of forging the software's financial records to make the sale.

As part of a decades-long legal battle against HP, Mr Lynch was extradited to the UK on criminal fraud charges. 

He steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that he was being made a scapegoat for HP's own bungling. 

He was eventually cleared of all charges in June this year. 

Although he avoided a possible prison sentence, Lynch still faced a bill from a civil case in London that HP mostly won during 2022. Damages haven't been determined in that case, but HP is seeking $US4 billion. 

Following the San Francisco trial, Mr Lynch said he would return to the UK and do what he loved most: "[being with] my family and innovating in my field."

The holiday appeared to be something of a celebration after Mr Lynch's acquittal, with guests including some of the people who had stood by Lynch throughout the ordeal.

This picture shows the rescue operations off the Sicilian coast.  ( AP: Italian Coast Guard  )

In a separate act of tragedy, Mr Lynch's co-defendant in the trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died on Monday, after a road accident left him critically injured.

Mr Chamberlain — Autonomy's former vice-president of finance alongside Mr Lynch — was hit by a car in Cambridgeshire on Saturday morning and had been placed on life support. 

What is the Bayesian?

The luxury yacht is 56m long sailboat, with a 75m mast labelled as the tallest aluminium mast in the world.

It was previously named Salute when it flew under a Dutch flag.

The yacht, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and a crew of 10, according to online specialist yacht sites. It was last refitted in 2020.

Online charter sites listed it for rent for up to 195,000 euros (about $AU 321,000) a week. 

This picture taken on Sunday shows the Bayesian (left) and the Duch sailboat Sir Robert Baden Powell anchored off the coast line.   ( AP: Fabio La Bianca/Baia Santa Nicolicchia )

The ship also won a string of awards for its design. 

Ms Golunski said the yacht had travelled through the Aeolian Islands, Milazzo and Cefalù before sinking. 

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

Final body found in Sicily yacht wreckage is Hannah Lynch, official says

The 18-year-old daughter of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was the last passenger missing from Monday’s sinking of the Bayesian.

Key takeaways

Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.

• Hannah Lynch, 18, is last body recovered from sunken yacht Bayesian
• Hannah was the daughter of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch who died in the disaster
• Yacht sank in storm Monday near Porticello, Italy
• 15 rescued, including Mike Lynch’s wife

ROME — The final body has been retrieved from the wreckage of a sunken yacht off Sicily, authorities said Friday, bringing to seven the number of people who died in the disaster.

“I can confirm it to you, the last victim inside the hull has been found,” said Cosimo Nicastro, a spokesman for the Italian coast guard.

Nicastro did not confirm the identity of the final body, but a senior Italian government official told The Washington Post that it has been confirmed to be that of Hannah Lynch, the teenage daughter of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch , who also died. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in keeping with protocol.

Hannah Lynch, 18, was the last passenger missing since the Bayesian sank in a storm of the northern coast of Sicily on Monday.

Mike Lynch’s body was recovered from the wreckage of the 183-foot yacht on Thursday. The British-flagged vessel was carrying 12 passengers and 10 crew members when it encountered what authorities called a “violent storm” about 4 a.m. Monday, roughly half a mile off the Sicilian fishing village of Porticello. It sank to a depth of more than 160 feet.

“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,” a spokesperson for the Lynch family said in a statement. “They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue. Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.”

Fifteen people, including Lynch’s wife and Hannah’s mother, Angela Bacares, were rescued shortly after the Bayesian sank. The body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered during initial search efforts.

Four bodies were pulled from the wreckage Wednesday. They were identified as those of two couples: Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International; Judy Bloomer, a charity trustee; Chris Morvillo, a partner at the law firm Clifford Chance in New York; and Neda Morvillo, a jeweler.

Friends of Hannah Lynch, paid tribute to a “warm and beautiful soul” and called her loss “unbearable.”

“Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for,” said her friend Katya Lewis, in a statement provided by the Lynch family’s representatives.

Hannah was “sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. I’ll always remember her smiling,” said Gracie Lea, her classmate at Latymer Upper School in London, which she attended.

Her teacher Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said Hannah “combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm.” He said Hannah “devoured” works of English literature, scoring high marks in her national exams, and had been due to attend the University of Oxford to study English, “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,” he added.

The Bayesian is owned by a company controlled by Bacares, and several of the passengers had business or legal ties to Lynch. Morvillo represented Lynch in a recently concluded legal battle. The voyage was intended to be a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal in the United States of fraud charges, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper has reported .

Lynch, 59, co-founded Autonomy, once Britain’s largest software company, and the cybersecurity firm Darktrace, among other ventures.

He sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 for more than $11 billion, but was subsequently accused of overvaluing the company and charged by the United States with fraud. He was acquitted on all counts by a federal court in San Francisco in June.

Divers from the Italian fire brigade have been working daily since Monday to recover the bodies, but the position of the yacht, and its narrow and cluttered passages, complicated the effort.