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A public prosecutor investigating the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht is probing the potential offence of “negligent shipwreck”, according to an official in Sicily.
The investigation is into “persons unknown”, said the official, who asked not to be identified. The probe is being led by prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio from the local town of Termini Imerese.
Bayesian sank off Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning, causing the deaths of seven people, including UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch. Fifteen passengers and crew were rescued, including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares.
The chief executive of Bayesian’s manufacturer has said the boat was “absolutely safe” and the crew should have had time to evacuate the passengers. The captain of the boat has not responded to requests for comment from the Financial Times.
Italian and UK authorities, which are investigating the circumstances of the incident, have not said when the boat started filling with water, whether vulnerable hatches were open, or whether the crew started the engine and tried to manoeuvre out of danger.
Negligent shipwreck was one of the offences of which the captain of Costa Concordia was convicted. The cruise ship foundered after hitting rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in 2012, causing the deaths of 32 people.
The trip on Bayesian, owned by Lynch’s family, was to celebrate the acquittal of the tech entrepreneur on US fraud charges. Lynch’s lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda and a witness for the defence Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy were among those who perished.
Divers have gradually recovered their bodies this week having initially struggled to access parts of the sunken vessel.
A seventh body was removed from the site of the shipwreck on Friday morning, according to an Italian official with knowledge of the matter. The last person to be missing was Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
The Italian investigation is running in parallel to a probe by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch, as Bayesian was British-flagged.
Additional reporting by Victor Mallet in London
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