British lookout and engineer on doomed Bayesian superyacht placed under manslaughter probe along with ‘silent’ Captain

The captain of doomed superyacht Bayesian, which sunk off the coast of Sicily killing seven, has “gone silent” after being placed under investigation.

Two British people are being investigated over the sinking of doomed superyacht Bayesian which killed seven people.

Ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are being probed by Italian prosecutors for culpable shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.

It comes after the luxury yacht owned by tech tycoon Mike Lynch capsized off the coast of Sicily last week, a judicial source told Reuters.

Mr Griffith is understood to have been on watch duty the night of the tragedy, while Mr Parker Eaton is suspected of having failed to protect the AU$27 million vessel’s engine room and operating systems when it was hit by a storm in the early hours of August 19.

Reports suggest crew bedrooms have been searched, with at least two phones seized.

It comes after the boat’s captain James Cutfield, 51, was placed under investigation for the same offences on Monday.

The New Zealander was quizzed the following day but refused to answer questions as he was too “shaken up”.

An official investigation of captain James Cutfield has been launched.

Speaking to The Times on Tuesday, Mr Cutfield’s lawyer Aldo Mordiglia said his client “exercised his right to remain silent”.

“There were two reasons. He is understandably very shaken up, and secondly, us lawyers were only appointed yesterday and we need to acquire information we do not have in order to defend him,” Mr Mordiglia added.

Prosecutors are also preparing to investigate Dutch first officer Tijs Koopmans, according to Italian media.

Under Italian maritime laws, the full responsibility for the welfare of a ship, its crew, and passengers lies with the captain of a vessel.

Being under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not necessarily mean formal criminal charges will follow.

The 56m Bayesian was carrying 22 people when it sank within minutes of being hit by a downburst – a strong, localised wind – while anchored in Porticello near Palermo around 4am last Monday.

Prosecutor's investigating potential crimes of negligent shipwreck and manslaughter after the superyacht sank killing seven people, including UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch. Picture: Alessandro FUCARINI / AFP.

Fifteen of those on board were rescued on a life raft, while the yacht’s cook Recaldo Thomas was discovered dead in the water shortly afterwards.

Specialist divers recovered the bodies of billionaire Lynch, 59, and four of his guests, from the first cabin on the left.

They were identified as Morgan Stanley International chief Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda.

Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was discovered in the third cabin.

Officials said the victims had scrambled to reach air pockets in the yacht, which sank 50 metres stern-first before rolling onto its right side on the seabed.

Investigators are understood to be rifling through CCTV footage and photographs taken by locals on the night of the storm to understand why the boat sank so quickly.

At a press conference at the Termini Imerese Courthouse on Saturday, Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said there may have been “behaviours that were not perfectly in order with regard to the responsibility everybody had.”

Divers recovered bodies from the doomed superyacht which sunk off the coast of Sicily in a storm. Picture: Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.

His team will probe if hatches were left open, allowing water to flood in.

They will also look into whether the crew raised the alarm before escaping.

He vowed to “discover how much they knew and to what extent all the people (passengers) were warned.”

Mr Cartosio added: “There could be in fact the question of homicide. But this is the beginning of the inquiry, we cannot exclude anything at all … We will establish each element’s (crew) responsibility.

“For me, it is probable that offences were committed — that it could be a case of manslaughter.”

It comes as former Bayesian captain Stephen Edwards, who was in charge of the vessel between 2015 and 2020, says he is “one hundred per cent” sure the hull would not have been left open at night – adding that there are no opening windows or portholes on board.

Writing on Scuttlebutt, he said the boat was “sound and seaworthy by design” but that heeling her to more than 45 degrees “could result in flooding and subsequent loss if the flooding could not be controlled”.

UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch (R) and his daughter Hannah Lynch. Picture: FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP.

The Bayesian is 56 metres long and costs a staggering $320,000 per week to hire. Picture: Supplied

He suggested the weather conditions could have created these “extreme circumstances” with little warning or time for the crew to react.

The surviving passengers, including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, 57, left Sicily in a private jet on Sunday, with most of the crew also set to leave after being grilled by investigators.

He said one person was on watch in the cockpit at the time of the accident.

Authorities now face a delicate task in extracting the wreck from the sea intact so that it can be properly investigated.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission