ROME (AP) — The captain of a superyacht that sank during a storm off Sicily last week, killing seven people, decided not to respond to prosecutors’ questions Tuesday, his lawyer said.
James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealand national, is under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges and was questioned for the third time by the Termini Imerese prosecutors Tuesday.
“He just exercised his right to remain silent, probably prosecutors were expecting that,” lawyer Aldo Mordiglia told The Associated Press, adding that the captain’s legal team has just been named and needs time to work on his defensive strategy.
Cutfield was among 15 survivors of the Aug. 19 sinking that killed British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah and five others.
Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, who’s heading the investigation, has said 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.
The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged luxury yacht, went down near the Mediterranean island in southern Italy. Investigators are focusing on how a sailing vessel deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.
Prosecutors said the event was “extremely rapid” and could have been a “downburst” — a localized, powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly upon hitting the ground.
The crew was saved, except for the chef, while six passengers were trapped in the hull.
Italian Navy scuba divers set a hyperbaric chamber as they work at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello, southern Italy, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Rescue teams and divers returned to the site of a storm-sunken super yacht to search for one person, who are believed to be still trapped in the hull 50 meters (164-feet) underwater. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Italian Navy scuba divers set a hyperbaric chamber as they work at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello, southern Italy, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Rescue teams and divers returned to the site of a storm-sunken super yacht to search for one person, who are believed to be still trapped in the hull 50 meters (164-feet) underwater. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
A boat, top, carrying a dive team passes a fishing boat as it heads out to the site of the Bayesian on the fourth day of the search and recovery operation after the luxury yacht sank in a storm on Monday whilst moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello, Sicily. ( Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
Italian Navy scuba divers work at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello, southern Italy, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Rescue teams and divers returned to the site of a storm-sunken super yacht to search for one person, who are believed to be still trapped in the hull 50 meters (164-feet) underwater. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
