Bayesian superyacht shipwreck: Italian prosecutors confirm manslaughter investigation

Italian officials have announced a manslaughter investigation into the sinking of super yacht Bayesian off the Sicilian coast.

Italian prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation into the sinking of superyacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily that claimed seven lives.

During a press conference with local and international media tonight (NZ time), senior prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said: “A case has been opened hypothesising the crime of shipwreck and manslaughter but we are only at the initial stage of the inquiries so far, so I am going to confine myself to only giving you that information.”

New Zealand citizen James Cutfield, 51, was captain of the Bayesian when it sank off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo during a storm.

Cutfield told Italian media of the abrupt nature of the water spout that made a death trap out of the superyacht.

“We just didn’t see it coming,” he said.

Also aboard the yacht were Kiwi Ayla Ronald, 36, a senior associate for Clifford Chance in London, and her partner Matthew Fletcher. They were among the 15 people who were rescued.

Cartosio said the development of that inquiry could be of “any sort imaginable”.

“It was absolutely indispensable to make that press conference given the interest of the world press in those who died,” he said.

Search and rescue teams diving off the coast of Palermo for the missing passengers and crew after the yacht Bayesian sank in a violent storm.

Cartosio said the yacht had already sunk by the time rescue forces arrived.

He described the incident as “grave tragedy” and to “reduce the dimensions of the tragedy” they called a “big operation of firefighters and firefighting divers who have shown incredible courage and skill” who carried out a very difficult mission indeed and have allowed us to inspect properly the wreck for bodies.

The local fire chief said 123 dives were taken by coastguard during the operation and could only stay for 12 minutes maximum under the water.

“It was an intense bout of work as you can imagine and very stressful, nevertheless in four days, the results we achieved do not require any further explanation,” he said.

“We managed to bring up all six bodies, we were operating at 50 metres depth and there was very little visibility due to the weather conditions but we achieved our aims.

“My colleagues have shown incredible professionalism.”

The fire chief told the press conference five bodies were found in one cabin.

“The yacht tended to the right and obviously the bodies tried to go to the other side and take refuge in their cabins.

“We found five bodies in a cabin on the left and another one in the third cabin on the left. They were in the higher part of the shipwreck.”

The latest development comes as the body of Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech billionaire Mike Lynch was recovered from the wreckage, the Italian coastguard told The Telegraph.

Yacht Bayesian sinks off the coast of Sicily.

Cutfield’s brother Mark told the Herald that his sibling was a “very good sailor” and was “very well respected” in the Mediterranean.

He confirmed his brother initially went to the hospital but did not suffer from injuries “too dramatic”.

“He’s safe, he’s okay.”

The Bayesian was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and was last refitted in 2020, and was managed by yachting company Camper & Nicholsons.

It won a string of awards for its design and can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and a crew of 10, according to online specialist yacht sites.

Formerly known as Salute, or health in Italian, its 75m mast is the tallest aluminium mast in the world, Perini said on its website.

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on August 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, August 19, with a navigation status of “at anchor”, according to vessel tracking app Vesselfinder.