What we know about the Bayesian yacht captain James Cutfield
The captain of Mike Lynch’s family yacht, James Cutfield, and other survivors have been questioned by police.
The body of Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah has been recovered from the wreckage of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily, meaning all six previously missing passengers have now been found.
The Bayesian yacht was moored half a mile off the coast of Porticello in Sicily when it sank in the early hours of Monday as the area was hit by a fierce storm.
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 – including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, and captain James Cutfield – were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat.
The boat is believed to have sank in the space of around 15 minutes. The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts who say a boat like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and should not, in any case, have sunk as quickly as it did.
Ambrogio Cartosio, the head of the public prosecutor's office of Termini Imerese, said that while the vessel had been hit by a very sudden meteorological event, it was "plausible" that crimes of multiple manslaughter and causing a shipwreck through negligence had been committed.
He told a news conference on Saturday that the investigation so far is not aimed at any one individual.
Cutfield, his eight surviving crew members and passengers have been questioned by police. Here is everything we know about the captain.
Who is James Cutfield?
Cutfield, 51, is from New Zealand. He is reported to have told Italian media shortly after the incident: “We just didn’t see it 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 paper that before working for Lynch, he had worked for a Turkish billionaire and had captained luxury yachts since 2016, having previously worked on them for two decades.
Mark Cutfield also said his brother was a “top sailor” in his youth who raced competitively.
He is reported to have married his wife in Mallorca last year.
What is happening with the investigation?
Cutfield was reportedly quizzed by authorities for two hours as they began questioning all crew members.
The Guardian reported on Friday that prosecutors are considering potential manslaughter charges relating to the sinking of the boat. The report did not mention Cutfield.
The potential for manslaughter charges was confirmed at Saturday's news conference by Cartosio.
Raffaele Cammarano, another prosecutor speaking at the same news conference, said that when questioned by the authorities Cutfield had been "extremely cooperative."
The Bayesian is lying on its side, apparently intact at a depth of 50 metres (164 ft). Pulling it out of the sea may help investigators determine what happened, but the operation is likely to be complex and costly.
According to Reuters, under maritime law, a captain has full responsibility for the ship, the crew, and the safety of all those aboard.
Cartosio told Saturday's news conference that there is no legal obligation for the captain, crew and passengers to stay in Italy, but authorities expected them to cooperate with the investigation.
He added it has not yet been possible to carry out alcohol or drug tests on the survivors as they were in a state of shock and needed treatment for their injuries.
What has been said about the crew?
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, a high-end yacht maker which built the Bayesian in 2008, told Reuters on Thursday that the shipwreck was the result of "indescribable, unreasonable errors" made by the crew.
He ruled out any design or construction errors, which he claimed were unlikely after 16 years of trouble-free navigation, including in more severe weather than on Monday.
He blamed the Bayesian's crew for the "incredible mistake" of not being prepared for the storm, which had been announced in shipping forecasts.
"This is the mistake that cries out for vengeance," he said.
Costantino said passengers should have been summoned out of their cabins and assembled at a point of safety while the boat was being prepared for the storm by pulling up the anchor, closing doors and hatches and lowering the keel to increase stability.
Had correct procedures been followed, all passengers would have gone back to sleep after one hour "and the next morning they would have happily resumed their wonderful cruise," Costantino claimed.
This sentiment was echoed by Cartosio, who said the tragedy will be even more painful if the investigation shows it was caused by "behaviours that were not aligned to the responsibilities that everyone needs to take in shipping".
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