Pictured: British chief engineer of £30m superyacht under investigation after Bayesian tragedy claimed the lives of seven people
It concerns the British chief engineer who is being prosecuted following the tragic sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, it was announced today.
Tim Parker-Eaton, 56, from Bedfordshire, and his British compatriot Matthew Griffiths, 22, are among those, along with New Zealand skipper James Cutfield, on an official list of people warned they are under official investigation for shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.
Seven people died when the £30million yacht sank in a storm off the coast of the village of Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily in the early hours of August 19, including tech magnate Mike Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Mr Parker-Eaton, from Clophill, Beds, was the ship’s engineer, while Mr Griffiths, the able seaman, is said to have been on night watch when disaster struck at around 4am.
Data from the superyacht shows it was hit by a violent storm at 3:50am and sank 16 minutes later, at 4:06am. But it wasn’t until 4:34am that the crew fired a red flare from their life raft, according to local reports.
Pictured is Tim Parker-Eaton, 56, who has been the Bayesian chief engineer since 2013
Mr Parker-Eaton (pictured) is under investigation following the tragic sinking of the superyacht Bayesian
Seven people died when the £30m yacht sank in a storm off the coast of the village of Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily. Pictured: Mr Parker-Eaton (left)
A handout photo provided on August 19 by the Perini Navi Press Office shows the ‘Bayesian’ sailboat in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Mr Parker-Eaton, 56, from Bedfordshire, and his British colleague Matthew Griffiths, 22, join New Zealand skipper James Cutfield (pictured) on the official list of people warned they are being formally investigated for shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.
One of the key questions facing prosecutors is how all but one crew member survived the disaster while six passengers died.
In addition to Mike and Hannah Lynch, the ship’s chef, Antiguan-Canadian Recaldo Thomas, Morgan Stanley International Bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, Clifford Chance attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda were also killed.
The body of the chef was found floating in the water on the day the yacht sank. The other bodies were found days later by specialist divers in two cabins on the yacht.
It is believed that Mr Parker-Eaton previously lived in Bedfordshire, where his elderly parents are both believed to have died.
Yesterday, the family’s home, which according to land registry records is still owned by Tim’s mother Dororthy, was empty with a “sold” sign.
His father Bob Parker-Eaton, OBE, who died in 2014 aged 83, was also a former RAF Wing Commander in the 1950s and later became a member of the board of Britain Airways, once the world’s largest holiday airline, which ceased trading in 2005.
Mr Cutfield’s lawyer, Aldo Mordiglia, who lives in Genoa, said that “as far as he knew” his client and the other crew members who had been staying in a hotel near Porticello after the disaster so they could be questioned by authorities “had been given permission to leave and go home”.
Mr Cutfield, 50, is believed to have returned to his home on the Spanish island of Majorca, where Mr Parker-Eaton is also believed to live. It is not known where Mr Griffiths lives.
British tech magnate Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah both died in the Bayesian tragedy when the superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily
The British-flagged Bayesian superyacht (pictured) was owned by tech magnate Mike Lynch
Recaldo Thomas, chef on the Bayesian, was the first person rescued after the yacht sank last Monday
Judy and Jonathan Bloomer died on the Bayesian when the ship capsized in the water
The bodies of Neda and Chris Morvillo, pictured in 2018, were also recovered last week
Authorities are said to be considering opening a formal investigation into the co-pilot, 33-year-old Dutchman Tijs Koopmans.
No charges have been officially filed against the crew members. Under Italian law, the fact that an investigation is underway does not necessarily mean that charges will be filed. It is up to an investigating judge to decide whether there is enough evidence to go to trial, after the file is filed.
A defence source told MailOnline: ‘This investigation will take many, many months and we will have to wait for the Bayesian value of the seabed to be raised, which may not happen until October.
“Even that will be a difficult operation, so it will be a long time before we know anything for sure about those formally investigated by prosecutors in Palermo.”
According to local media, Mr Cutfield and the other crew members were allowed to leave Italy for the time being.
Mr Eaton-Parker, pictured here for the first time, has a long association with Bayesian and has been chief engineer since its launch in 2013, when it was called Salute.
He was closely involved in the installation of the 75-metre-high aluminium mast, The Times reported last week.
Mr Cutfield (pictured) is now being investigated for shipwreck and manslaughter
Search for ships returning to shore Friday after Hannah Lynch’s body discovered
Italian prosecutors held a press conference on Saturday revealing that the victims were unable to escape because they were asleep during the storm
After the tragedy, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of Italy’s Sea Group, which owns Bayesian builders Perini Navi, claimed that “human error” was the cause of the sinking, as the crew was not “prepared” for the storm and “hatchways were left open”.
There are also reports that the retractable keel of the ship’s Bayesian hull, which helps maintain stability, was not fully deployed.
The 180-foot Bayesian vessel, known for its 250-foot aluminum mast, is currently sitting in a depth of 165 feet near Porticello, with growing concerns that it is carrying more than 5,000 gallons of fuel, which could cause an environmental disaster.
Mr Cutfield and the remaining crew were due to depart Palermo later today on a business jet landing in Mallorca.
The news came as a crowdfunding campaign was launched in Mallorca, where many of the Bayesian crew lived, and over €5,000 was raised for their expenses and immediate needs.
He and others staying on the Spanish island temporarily stayed in a hotel with other survivors near Palermo while they were being interrogated.
The survivors’ departure back to their base was delayed after they lost their passports when the Bayesian ship sank earlier this month.
According to reports in the Italian media, Mr Parker-Eaton was being investigated by the judicial authorities after an engineer was supposed to supervise the ‘closing of the hatches’, but this was allegedly not done.
Investigations were underway into Mr Griffiths, who is believed to hold dual French and British nationality, as he was said to have been on watch as the storm approached.
Meanwhile, an environmental vessel is on site, ready to deploy floating booms if a leak were to develop in the Bayesian’s fuel tanks.