The investigation into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank last Monday off Sicily's coast, is widening to include the crew.
ADVERTISEMENTThe investigation into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank last Monday off the town of Porticello, just outside Sicily's capital Palermo, is widening to include the crew.
Until now, James Cutfield, the 51-year-old New Zealand national captain of the Bayesian, was the primary person of interest in the investigation to determine whether the crimes of "culpable shipwreck" and "manslaughter" may have been committed.
The captain was among 15 survivors after the yacht sank at night in a storm on 19 August, killing British tech magnate Mike Lynch as well as his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others. Angela Barcares, Lynch's widow and owner of the company whose name the yacht is registered, is among the survivors.
The other crew members have now also been heard by magistrates, and they may also be placed under investigation alongside their captain.
Under Italian law, being under investigation doesn’t imply guilt and doesn’t necessarily lead to criminal charges.
So far, Italian prosecutors have only named Cutfield as a suspect in its manslaughter investigation into the deaths of the seven people who perished.
On Sunday, magistrates questioned all the crew members with the support of an interpreter. Hundreds of pages of notes in English will have to be translated into Italian and should arrive on the prosecutors' tables within 30 days.
James Cutfield will be heard for the third time by investigators on Tuesday afternoon at a hotel in Palermo where the crew members have been staying since the tragedy. Most of them — the boatswain, the two sailors, the chief engineer, and the three young hostesses — were due to leave Sicily on Tuesday.
The captain and first officer of the Bayesian, however, will have to wait before being allowed to leave, as they may be questioned again.
Cutfield is defended by two well-known Italian lawyers, Giovanni Rizzuti and Aldo Mordiglia.
"James Cutfield ... is determined to defend himself against the charges brought against him by the prosecution," said Rizzuti. According to legal experts, the strategy that the captain's lawyers are likely to adopt is not to let him answer the prosecutors' questions, as no one is yet aware of the results of the investigations made so far by the prosecution.
Cutfield, who has a career as an experienced skipper with a particular passion for the Mediterranean, expects to return to Majorca with his wife soon.
Bayesian hailed as 'unsinkable' like the Titanic
The testimonies of Cutfield and his deputy, Koopmans, are crucial to determining what happened and whether mistakes were made by the crew, who were allegedly taken by surprise by the storm.
Many questions remain: why did the sailing ship remain anchored just offshore when bad weather was forecast? Were the hatches open and did they take on water? Why were the passengers not warned in time?
And also, how is it possible that a 56-metre-long sailboat with a 75-metre-high mast could sink so quickly?
ADVERTISEMENTAmong the first hypotheses of Civil Defence officials was that the sailing boat was hit by a so-called waterspout or a "downburst", a localised and powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads quickly.
However, the overarching question investigators are asking is how a sailing ship deemed "unsinkable" by Perini Navi, the Italian shipyard that built it in 2008, was, in fact, the only one of the many boats anchored off Porticello that sank in the storm that night.
According to reports from fire brigade divers, who descended repeatedly throughout the week to carry out the difficult rescue operations and search for the missing, the boat's movable keel was partially raised.
This is essential to ensure the boat's stability, and the fact that it was partially raised may have contributed to the sinking.
ADVERTISEMENTDivers work to prevent fuel spillage
Meanwhile, Coast Guard divers have returned to inspect the sailing ship under the prosecutor's orders.
In addition to filming every detail of the wreck that could explain the shipwreck, they also monitored the integrity of the tanks, which hold 18,000 litres of fuel and oil.
Camper & Nicholsons, the company that is the service provider the Bayesian, is assisting the salvage company appointed to develop a plan to salvage the wreck, which rests 49 metres deep on its right side.
The priority is to empty the tank, followed by securing the boat to raise it to the surface safely.
ADVERTISEMENT"Our priority right now is supporting the survivors, working closely with local authorities, and assisting the crew members in ensuring their safe repatriation and return to their families," Camper & Nicholsons said in a statement Wednesday.
Correction: This article was amended on 28 August 2024 to reflect that Camper & Nicholsons does not own the Bayesian and is the service provider for the yacht instead.