Maker of Mike Lynch’s Bayesian superyacht loses CEO and board as difficulties mount
Vessel made by The Italian Sea Group’s Perini Navi sank off the coast of Sicily in 2024
The chief executive of The Italian Sea Group, builder of Mike Lynch’s sunken Bayesian superyacht, has stepped down, triggering the departure of the company’s entire board amid a painful financial restructuring at the luxury yacht-making group.
The Bayesian, made by TISG’s Perini Navi, sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm in 2024, killing UK tech entrepreneur Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and five others.
Giovanni Costantino, who is also the controlling shareholder, resigned on Monday alongside his son Gianmaria following financial difficulties at Milan-listed TISG, which disclosed unauthorised cost overruns and alleged accounting irregularities in March before seeking court protection from creditors and opening a restructuring process.
The company’s board, which must now be replaced under Italian law, will continue to operate on an interim basis until a new one is appointed, “to ensure continuity and the continuation of the restructuring process,” the company said in a statement.
TISG’s share price has fallen by almost 78 per cent over the past six months.
The group last year brought a €456mn damages claim against the Lynch estate and members of the crew on the Bayesian, claiming that negligence caused the yacht to sink and inflicted severe reputational and commercial damage on the shipbuilder. The Lynch estate has previously rejected the claim, describing the lawsuit as “cynical”.
Investigations into the causes of the disaster are ongoing, with Italian prosecutors examining possible human error while a preliminary UK investigation identified design vulnerabilities that may have contributed to the yacht’s rapid sinking.
At the time, TISG maintained that the vessel was safe and suggested that human errors were behind the disaster. It has said its Perini Navi brand has not sold another vessel since the sinking. TISG said on Tuesday that there were no updates on the case.
The company’s financial disclosures this year have suggested financial issues that extend beyond the fallout from the Bayesian’s sinking. Three directors, including its chair and vice-chair, resigned after the group uncovered significant unauthorised cost overruns on yacht projects, prompting a forensic investigation into whether former senior executives concealed the true state of its orders and finances.
More recently, faltering negotiations with yacht owners, legal disputes over vessels under construction, potential job losses and mounting pressure on suppliers have left the group racing to renegotiate contracts, reduce its debt and secure fresh capital.