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Expert attributes Italy yacht sinking to ‘black swan’ event
STORY: :: A British maritime expert attributes the Italy yacht sinking to a ‘black swan’ event:: August 21, 2024:: Porticello, Italy:: Oxfordshire, England:: August 20, 2024:: Matthew Schanck, Chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council:: “Looking at the extreme weather, if it was a water spout, which it appears to be, it’s what I would class as like a black swan event. So we’ve got this high impact, but low probability event. And even outside of the maritime industry, all industries struggle with the black swan events. How much preparedness do we put in place? How much planning? How much risk are we willing to take?”:: Giornale di Sicilia:: August 19, 2024:: “What caused the vessel to incline to such an angle is what is critical. So whether that was because the keel wasn’t properly deployed or whether that was because, for instance, some of the sail may have come loose from the mass, which has contributed towards that angle, or whether it was simply because the wind speeds experienced by this water spout was so extreme it inclined the vessel over.:: “The authorities, I’ve got faith, will get to the bottom of that because there is the eyewitness accounts from the shore and the other vessels. There are obviously survivors from the vessel, but also there is the wreckage as well. So the wreckage is also intact on the seabed. So we’ll be able to use those three sources to really get to the bottom of what has happened.”Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council said that the “Bayesian” had been the victim of freak weather conditions.Schanck also stressed the rarity of such extreme weather events in Sicily, suggesting that the event might prompt a review of current maritime regulations. He emphasized that existing standards are already rigourous.Divers resumed their search on Wednesday (August 21) for survivors in the wreck of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s luxury yacht, which sank off the coast of Sicily, with hopes dwindling of finding the six missing people alive.