The superyacht of late tech billionaire Mike Lynch is said to be equipped with a watertight safe containing top-secret information.
Recent reports have said that a recovery plan is being developed for the unrecovered vessel, the Baysian, to see how to avoid spilling the 18,000 litres of oil and fuel that is believed to still be on board.
Authorities are also reportedly looking at ways to prevent sensitive data on board the ship from being stolen.
The vessel reportedly did not have traditional black boxes or data recorders for navigation.
The Baysian sank off the coast of Sicily in August, killing seven people: Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judith, lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda, and chef Recardo Thomas, who was on board.
Specialist divers are calling for increased security at the wreck, fearing there may be sensitive data still stored in locked safes inside the vessel, about 50 metres (164 feet) below sea level.
Sources said the waterproof safe contained what was described only as passcodes and other sensitive data. CNN.
CNN also cited four sources who said the information may have ties to Western intelligence agencies, and reported that the data may be of interest to foreign governments, including China and Russia.
Some of the surviving Baysians reportedly told prosecutors that Lynch stored the data on hard drives in a secure compartment on his yacht while traveling because he “did not trust cloud services.”
Requests were made for increased security for air and underwater surveillance.
“A formal request for additional security until the wreckage can be salvaged has been received and implemented,” Sicilian civil defence officials said.
Since the ship sank, strange information has surfaced about Lynch and his companions, making the case one of the most mysterious this year.
Lynch's wife Angela survived, along with 14 other crew members, including Captain James Cutfield, the deckhand, and the chief engineer. The entire crew is under investigation for manslaughter and negligence, but for some reason they have all been allowed to leave Italy.
Italian authorities also said no drug or alcohol tests were carried out on the crew after the accident because they were in a “state of shock”.
Lynch's company, Darktrace, had deep ties to US and British intelligence: Co-founder Stephen Huxter was a senior member of the cyber defence team at the British intelligence agency MI5, before installing former GHS operative Andrew France as chief executive.
Darktrace's board of directors reportedly also includes two senior intelligence officials: former MI5 director Jonathan Evans and Jim Penrose of the NSA, who rose to become a senior defence intelligence officer.
The sinking of the yacht came just one month after Lynch and colleague Stephen Chamberlain were acquitted of fraud-related charges. Chamberlain died the same day the Baysian was struck by a car while he was jogging and sank.
The wife of Bayesian's owner, Mr Lynch, who was a technology and cybersecurity adviser to British prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May, will also cover the costs of salvaging the ship.
Local prosecutors made shocking statements saying that no personal belongings such as computers, jewellery or hard drives were recovered, but the ship's hard drives and cameras connected to the navigation system had been seized for investigation.
The vessel reportedly did not have traditional black boxes or data recorders for navigation.
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