Prosecutors investigate captain of superyacht that sank off Sicily | Court news

Seven people, including British technology magnate Mike Lynch and his daughter, died when the ship sank in a sudden storm.

Italian prosecutors are investigating the captain of the superyacht that sank during a storm off Sicily last week, killing seven people. He is accused of manslaughter, among other things, his lawyer said.

The 51-year-old New Zealander James Cutfield is being investigated for suspected manslaughter and shipwreck, lawyer Aldo Mordiglia said on Monday.

Cutfield was one of 15 people on board the 56-metre-long Bayesian, which sank on August 19 after being hit by a storm at dawn while anchored off Porticello, near Palermo.

British technology magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others were killed.

Mordiglia, one of two lawyers appointed to defend the captain, said Cutfield would be questioned by prosecutors on Tuesday. He himself had already been questioned in the aftermath of the incident, while other crew members were questioned on Monday.

Under Italian law, an investigation does not automatically mean guilt or lead to charges being brought. Under maritime law, a captain bears full responsibility for the ship, crew and all persons on board.

On Saturday, Attorney General Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed that investigations had been launched.

He said his team would consider all possible elements of responsibility, including those of the captain, crew, those responsible for supervision and the yacht’s manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi.

Investigators are focusing on how a boat that was declared “unsinkable” by its manufacturer sank while a nearby yacht remained largely unscathed.

Prosecutors said the event occurred “extremely quickly” and may have been a “downburst” – a localized, strong wind that originates from a thunderstorm and spreads rapidly when it hits the ground.

They have said that the investigation will likely take some time and that the wreck will need to be recovered from the sea. The Bayesian is currently lying on her right side at a depth of about 50 metres.

Lynch, 59, had invited friends and family to a holiday gathering on Bayesian Avenue to celebrate his recent acquittal on $11 billion fraud charges related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard.

The other five victims were Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch’s American lawyers, and his wife Neda, Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley’s London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife Judy, and Recaldo Thomas, the yacht’s cook.