Captain of Bayesian superyacht ‘under official investigation for manslaughter’ after tragic sinking left seven dead
ITALIAN prosecutors have reportedly opened a manslaughter probe into the captain of the Bayesian superyacht over the deaths of seven people on board.
James Cutfield, 51, from New Zealand, is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck, La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera said.
Magistrates reportedly spoke to Cutfield on Sunday for the second time in a week – questioning him for more than two hours.
Prosecutors may also investigate a crew member who was on duty when the storm hit and survived the disaster, according to reports.
The 184ft Bayesian was carrying 22 people when it capsized and sank last Monday within minutes of being hit by a storm while anchored off northern Sicily.
Brit tech tycoon Mike Lynch and four others were found dead in the first cabin of the luxury yacht’s left side.
Mr Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was found in the third cabin after it sank stern-first before rolling on to its right on the seabed. The yacht’s chef also died.
Fifteen of the 22 on board, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, 57, escaped on a life raft.
Prosecutors said the victims had attempted to scramble to one side of the doomed £30million, 184ft vessel in a desperate battle to reach air pockets after it went down in a storm off Sicily.
Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said the victims would have been asleep when the freak weather struck at around 5am local time on Monday last week, leaving them unable to escape.
Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt – and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow.
Maritime law gives a captain full responsibility for the ship and the crew, as well as the safety of all aboard.
Cutfield and his eight surviving crew have made no public comment yet on the disaster.
In a press conference on Saturday, Mr Cartosio said there may have been “behaviours that were not perfectly in order with regard to the responsibility everybody had”.
He added: “There could be in fact the question of homicide. But this is the beginning of the inquiry, we cannot exclude anything at all.”
He said one line of inquiry was whether the crew attempted to raise the alarm with passengers before getting on the lifeboat and escaping.
He vowed to “discover how much they (the crew) knew and to what extent all the people (passengers) were warned.”
He said: “We will establish each element’s (crew) responsibility. For me, it is probable that offences were committed — that it could be a case of manslaughter.”
He said Captain Cutfield had been “extremely cooperative” during questioning and will be quizzed further.
Lead prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano said Italy’s Air Force found the boat was sunk by a downburst which descended from a thunderstorm.
He said there were forecasts of strong winds and a storm alert but good visibility and no suggestion of a tornado.
He added: “Given the conditions were such, there wasn’t anything to suggest there could be an extreme situation.
“There are vessels that can monitor these events and one would have thought the captain had taken precautions.”
He said one person was on watch in the cockpit at the time of the accident.
Bentivoglio Fiandra, chief of Palermo’s fire brigade and part of the rescue, said the victims “were trying to hide in the cabins on the left-hand side” where the last air pockets remained.
Divers made more than 120 trips in five days to the wrecked boat 164ft below the surface, with mirrors in the cabins making their tough job harder because their lights were reflected back at them.
It comes as…
- Brit teen Hannah Lynch was found on the sunken boat on Friday as her family paid tribute
- Five bodies were recovered from the yacht wreck on Wednesday and Thursday including Brit tycoon Mike Lynch
- The CEO of the firm that produced the Bayesian said the boat is ‘unsinkable’ and pointed to human error
- Captain James Cutfield was quizzed for two hours by cops and remains at the centre of a probe
- Experts believe the yacht’s ‘tallest mast in the world‘ may have contributed to the disaster after a freak ‘Black Swan’ weather event struck
- Pictures showed the tiny raft that saved up to 15 people
- Frantic text messages from the survivors revealed the chaos
Vincenzo Nardoni, inspector at the Department of Fire Fighters’ Divers in Naples, said: “Inside it was a very confusing place, with wardrobes and furniture whirling all around us, and lots of mirrors reflecting back our lights at us.
“The bodies were all wedged in tight spots, with furniture on top or beside them. They were all stuck there.”
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which manufactured Perini Navi shipyard vessel Bayesian, accused the crew of failing to “close the doors and hatches” and insisted the boat should have been “unsinkable”.
Mr Costantino recently told The Sun: “Modern sailing ships, especially high-tech ones like the Perini, are designed to be extremely safe and stable.
“Even in very critical conditions, if procedures are followed, a sailing yacht like the Bayesian will return to an upright position.
“If the ship takes on water, this stability is compromised … What is certain is that the ship took on hundreds of thousands of litres of water.”
Authorities now face a delicate task in extracting the wreck from the depths of the sea – intact – so that it can be properly probed.
Expert diver Bertrand Sciboz said it would be a “very special operation”.
He told BBC on Saturday: “They’ll have to salvage the wreck intact to then send it back to authorities and police.
“They will need to salvage the boat intact but I suppose they will have to take off the mast before.
“First, put the boat on its keel and then take off the mast.”
Bayesian mystery: the unanswered questions
PROSECUTORS have launched a major probe into whether the Bayesian crew follow the right procedures before it tragically sank.
With the investigation underway now that bodies have been recovered, these are the key points that remain shrouded in mystery.
Why did it sink while other boats withstood the storm?
Survivors were saved by crew of Dutch boat Sir Robert Baden Powell, which was moored right near the Bayesian.
The 42-metre boat remained anchored after its skipper turned on the engine, also avoiding a collision with the doomed British-flagged vessel.
Captain Karsten Borner said the Bayesian crew were likely “surprised” by the storm’s prowess.
Were proper safety precautions followed?
In light of the weather warning issued by the coast guard, questions have been raised over whether yacht guests were woken up and given life jackets.
On Saturday, prosecutors said those who died were likely asleep when the storm hit.
This meant they couldn’t escape as the boat rapidly sank, investigators believe.
Was the Bayesian properly anchored?
The anchor being lowered to 50 metres has sparked questions over whether the yacht should have been secured in shallower water.
Retired Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe also said the Bayesian is designed for a huge sail – and without the sail raised, the fierce gusts would’ve rocked the boat’s aluminium pole.
He told CBC News: “My kind of working assumption is that she was probably a bit further in at anchor, and it’s very likely, in these sort of conditions, that her anchor dragged.”
Were hatches left open?
It access hatches were left open before the storm struck, it’s believed the yacht would’ve quickly filled with water once it tipped, causing the swift sinking.
An expert at the scene told Reuters that one of the earliest aims for investigators was to establish whether the crew did not close access hatches before disaster struck.
With temperatures above 33 degrees, they may have been left open for air circulation.
Sam Jefferson said: “I imagine all the doors were open because it was hot, so there were enough hatches and doors open that it filled with water very quickly and sank like that.”
How long will the investigation take?
Sicilian prosecutors wouldn’t be drawn on giving a timeline for the investigation on Saturday.
With the wreck at 50 metres below the sea surface, they warned it would take some time.
Autopsies are also yet to be done.