The body of Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was recovered from the wreck of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily. This means that all six previously missing passengers have been found.
The Bayes yacht was anchored half a mile off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, when it sank in the early hours of Monday morning as the region was hit by a violent storm.
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 – including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares and Captain James Cutfield – were rescued after escaping into a lifeboat.
The boat is said to have sunk within about 15 minutes. The sinking has puzzled marine experts. They believe that a boat like the Bayesian, built by the Italian luxury yacht manufacturer Perini, should have been able to withstand the storm and should not have sunk so quickly.
According to unconfirmed reports in the local media, prosecutors are close to launching an investigation into the incident, the Italian equivalent of the British manslaughter charges.
Cutfield, his eight surviving crew and passengers have reportedly since been questioned by police. Here’s everything we know about the captain.
Who is James Cutfield?
Cutfield, 51, is from New Zealand. Shortly after the incident, he is said to have told the Italian media: “We simply didn’t see this coming.”
His brother Mark spoke to The New Zealand Herald on Wednesday. He said Cutfield’s injuries were not “too dramatic” and described him as a “very good sailor” and “very well respected”.
He told the newspaper that before joining Lynch, he worked for a Turkish billionaire and had been captain of a luxury yacht company since 2016, after working in the field for two decades.
Mark Cutfield also said that his brother was a “top sailor” who competed in competitions when he was younger.
He reportedly married his wife in Mallorca last year.
How will the investigation proceed?
Cutfield was reportedly questioned by authorities for two hours as they began questioning all crew members.
Prosecutors are considering filing manslaughter charges in connection with the boat’s sinking, The Guardian reported on Friday. Cutfield was not mentioned in the report.
Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese plan to hold a press conference on Saturday morning.
The Bayesian model lies on its side, apparently intact, at a depth of 50 meters. Pulling it out of the sea could help investigators figure out what happened, but the operation is likely to be complex and costly.
According to Reuters, under maritime law, a captain bears full responsibility for the ship, the crew and the safety of everyone on board.
What was said about the crew?
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which includes luxury yacht maker Perini, which built the Bayesian in 2008, told Reuters on Thursday that the shipwreck was due to “indescribable, unreasonable errors” by the crew.
He ruled out any design or construction errors and said that after 16 years of trouble-free navigation, even in worse weather than on Monday, these were unlikely.
He accused the crew of the Bayesian of making the “incredible mistake” of not being prepared for the storm that had been announced in the shipping weather forecasts.
“This is a mistake that cries out for revenge,” he said.
Costantino said passengers had to be called out of their cabins and gathered in a safe place while the boat was prepared for the storm by raising the anchor, closing doors and hatches and lowering the keel to increase stability.
If proper procedures had been followed, all passengers would have fallen asleep again after an hour “and happily continued their wonderful cruise the next morning,” Costantino claimed.
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