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The captain of the Bayesian is under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck, according to judicial sources.
The official, who asked not to be named, confirmed to Reuters on Monday the earlier reports in Italian media that New Zealander James Cutfield, 51, was being investigated by Italian prosecutors after the superyacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily last Monday.
Magistrates spoke to the 51-year-old on Sunday for the second time in a week, the Italian daily la Repubblica reported, questioning him for more than two hours.
Speaking of the storm, Mr Catfield insisted on Tuesday: “We didn’t see it coming.”
Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow.
It comes amid tributes for the owner of the British-flagged vessel Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah Lynch, Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, who all died in the disaster.
Sasha Murray, chief stewardess of the yacht, who is understood to have been among the 15 rescued from the boat, described Hannah as a “diamond in a sea of stars”.
Key Points
- Captain under investigation after sinking of Lynch’s yacht, judicial source says
- Timeline of the Bayesian luxury yacht disaster
- Tribute to ‘genius’ storyteller Mike Lynch
- Italian prosecutor announces manslaughter investigation over Mike Lynch yacht sinking
- Pictured: Bayesian superyacht
Why was Mike Lynch’s yacht named the Bayesian?
Autonomy, the software firm which Mike Lynch sold in a £8.64bn deal in 2011, was a pioneer of business data analysis, using machine learning and what Mr Lynch called “adaptive pattern recognition”.
It used a statistical method called “Bayesian inference” at the heart of its software, devised by the 18th-century mathematician Thomas Bayes.
The yacht’s name, Bayesian, harks to the same model that was at the heart of Autonomy’s – and Mr Lynch’s – success.
Barney Davis27 August 2024 02:58 1724720340How did Mike Lynch make his money?
Once dubbed the “British Bill Gates”, Mike Lynch and his wife Angela Bacares were valued at £852m in 2023 by the Sunday Times Rich List.
The 59-year-old tech tycoon is known for founding Invoke Capital and Autonomy Corporation and had been in the headlines after he was cleared of charges in a high-profile fraud case.
My colleague Barney Davis has more details:
Mike Lynch net worth: How the billionaire made his money
Mike Lynch was frequently described as the Bill Gates of Britain for founding Autonomy – one of the biggest software firms on the planet
Andy Gregory27 August 2024 01:59 1724716800Watch: Captain details Bayesian sinking 'within two minutes' after rescuing survivors
In Focus | How the world of yachts got supersized
The sinking of the 56-metre yacht Bayesian and the tragic deaths of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his guests and boat staff have given the public a glimpse into the rarefied world of superyachts, writes Boat International’s Lucy Dunn.
From the sheer size of the mast (74 metres, roughly the size of seven two-storey houses stacked on top of each other) to the expense (Bayesian was put up for sale in 2014 with an asking price of $30m, which is around £23m), to the sheer luxury (the interiors were by Remi Tessier, the designer behind Claridge’s new penthouse), it’s a world few people normally get to see.
There are currently 12,626 superyachts on the water around the world with 1,166 superyachts in build or on order. If you have been to a Greek island this year, or maybe the Amalfi coast, you may have glimpsed them coming in and out of harbours and wondered who owns a yacht like that. Or who can afford to charter a yacht like that – which have an average price of around £180,000 a week.
While you may think of glossy influencers and A-listers, the superyachting fraternity is where millionaires are sorted from the billionaires from the centi-billionaires; the 0.001 per centers. Rarely will you find a celebrity with the financial clout to afford a yacht owned by Lynch, these are generally under-the-radar industry titans who don’t have household names.
So, what exactly makes a superyacht super? According to Boat International, where I work, it can be applied to any boat, motor or sailing yacht which is over 24 metres in length. Size, in the superyacht world, is everything – and yachts are getting bigger all the time.
Read the full article with Independent Premium:
Giant masts, moon pools and explorer pods: How the world of yachts got supersized
The sinking of Mike Lynch’s ‘unsinkable’ sailing vessel was not only a heartbreaking tragedy, but also gave us a rare glimpse into the superyachting fraternity. Here, Boat International’s Lucy Dunn looks at a group that is both secretive and innovative, and asks how such a high-spec sailing yacht could have sunk at all...
Andy Gregory27 August 2024 00:01 1724709528Friend pays tribute to Bayesian chef Recaldo Thomas
Recaldo Thomas was the superyacht’s chef and the first person whose death was confirmed.
The Canadian-Antiguan national was found by the Italian coastguard near the sunken boat. A friend of Mr Thomas, who asked to remain anonymous, said the yachting community has been saddened by his death.
She told The Independent: “He was a one-of-a-kind special human being. Incredibly talented, contagious smile and laugh, an incredible voice with a deep love of the ocean and the moon. I spoke to him nearly every day. He loved his life his friends and his job.”
Andy Gregory26 August 2024 22:58 1724705599Bayesian captain to be questioned again on Tuesday, lawyer says
James Cutfield, the 51-year-old New Zealand national who was captain of the Bayesian, is being investigated for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck, said lawyer Aldo Mordiglia, one of two attorneys appointed for the captain’s defence.
Mr Cutfield, who already has been questioned, will be questioned again by prosecutors on Tuesday, Mordiglia said.
Under Italian laws, being under investigation doesn’t imply any guilt, and doesn’t necessarily lead to criminal charges.
Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed on Saturday that an investigation had been launched and that his team would consider each possible element of responsibility including those of the captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision and the yacht’s manufacturer.
Andy Gregory26 August 2024 21:53 1724699982Watch: The moment Bayesian yacht was engulfed by storm
Yacht ‘should have taken hours' to fill up with enough water to sink it
The sinking of the Bayesian has puzzled seafarers and nautical engineers, who have said that it should have taken hours for the yacht to fill up with enough water to sink it, making its swift demise incomprehensible.
There have been suggestions that one or more portholes, windows or other openings may have been inadvertently left open by the crew, or broken or smashed by the storm, letting in water.
Experts also wondered if the yacht had been moored with its keel up, potentially compromising its stability. The keel is a fin-like stabilising structure under the hull, which can be partially lifted to reduce the depth of the boat in shallow waters or harbours.
Prosecutors have said it was too early to comment on either hypothesis. They also said crew members were not immediately tested for alcohol or drugs because they were in a state of shock when rescued.
Reuters26 August 2024 19:22 1724691668Bayesian sank from its stern, fire chief says
The Bayesian sent its last signal before sinking via the tracking Automatic Identification System (AIS) just after 4am local time, according to the MarineTraffic website.
Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said a red flare alerting rescue services about the emergency was fired into the sky more than 30 minutes later.
The head of Palermo’s Fire Brigade, Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra, said the boat sank from the stern and is lying on its starboard side at a depth of around 50 metres (164 feet).
Andy Gregory26 August 2024 18:01 1724686640Hannah Lynch was ‘one of the best English students in the country’, teacher says
Hannah Lynch had just completed her A-levels and secured a place to study English at Oxford University.
Her former English teacher Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said she was “one of the best English students in the country” having scored 100% in her English Literature GCSE.
Patrick Jacob, a family friend, paid tribute to her on Friday, saying: “Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age.
“I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable.”
Andy Gregory26 August 2024 16:37 Newer1 / 8OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
