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62m VSY superyacht Sealyon sold

The 62 metre VSY motor yacht Sealyon has been sold by Kevin Merrigan and Bob Fritsky at Northrop & Johnson and Max Bulley at Y.CO , with the buyer introduced by Kurt Bosshardt at Denison Yachting . 

Sealyon was built by Italian yard VSY to RINA class with naval architecture by Espen Oeino . She was delivered in 2009 as Candyscape II . A striking interior by Candy & Candy combines 1930s glamour with contemporary style and accommodates 10 guests in five cabins.

A split-level master cabin on the main deck boasts panoramic views, a walk-in dressing area and a spacious Grigio Carnico marble ensuite complete with a spa bath and shower, both with in-built televisions. A glass guest lift runs from the lower deck with its four guest cabins – two convertible twins and two spacious doubles, all en suite – to the bridge deck.

Elsewhere, the yacht's main saloon's comfortable seating is split in two by an 'S' shaped chaise, comprising two accented chairs and settees. Located aft is a grand piano, adding to the perfect setting for entertaining guests. 

A key feature of the yacht is the sundeck, offering a rotating sun bed with mist options for cooling down as well as individual sun loungers, further seating and a bespoke dining table for al fresco meals. Further forward is a separate lounge area with additional sunbathing spaces and a Jacuzzi for 12 guests which features therapy lighting and drinks bar. 

Twin 2,682hp Caterpillar engines offer a maximum speed of 17 knots and a range of 3,500 nautical miles at 14 knots.

Sealyon was asking $29,900,000.

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SEALYON Yacht – Incredible $35 Million Superyacht

The SEALYON yacht is a 62.0m superyacht built by Viareggio Superyacht in 2009 at their Italian shipyard. She was originally named Candyscape II. 

She was originally built for British property developers, Nick and Christian Candy to replace their previous yacht, Candyscape. 

In 2011, she was sold by the Candys to British investor Anthony Lyons, who listed SEALYON for sale asking for 29,500,000 EUR. 

SEALYON Yacht Interior

The SEALYON yacht interior was penned by English design house Candy & Candy.

Her interiors are inspired by 1930s Hollywood glamour and feature contemporary classic styling. 

Some of the eccentric materials that can be found on the inside of the vessel include dark wood, rosewood, and metallic accents. 

Following the 30’s concept, the interiors are Art Deco styled giving Great Gatsby vibes. 

The main salon is decorated with a Schimmel piano and the owner’s special art collection. 

She can accommodate up to 10 guests across six luxury cabins, including the owner’s cabin, a VIP room, and four convertible guest cabins. She can also carry 16 crew members on board. 

The master suite is located on deck level and features panoramic views, as well as a private dressing room and an ensuite bathroom decorated in Grigio Carnico marble. 

The amenities this stunning yacht offers include a gym on deck, jacuzzi, treadmill, free weights, HDTV TV, iPod system, air-conditioning, and WIFI.

SEASON is also equipped with an exclusive variety of toys such as jet skis, seasons, wakeboard, waterski, banana, doughnut, and snorkeling equipment. 

SEALYON Yacht Exterior

The SEA LYON yacht features exterior design by Espen Øino International and naval architecture by Studio Ing. A. Arnaboldi. 

Her gorgeous white exterior is defined by clean and geometrical lines giving her a contemporary aesthetic. It is built with a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. 

The vessel has a modern stabilization system to help reduce the roll and side-to-side effect, making the cruising experience even more comfortable and safe.

She has a 23’ Castoldi tender and a U-shaped lounge for guests to enjoy the open air. 

SEALYON Yacht Specifications

The SEALYON yacht is powered by twin Caterpillar engines which give her a cruising speed of 15.0 knots with a range of 4,000 nautical miles. She can reach a maximum speed of 17 knots.

This superyacht has a beam of 11.02m, a draft of 3.2m, and a gross tonnage of 1,065. She has a fuel capacity of 141,000 liters and can carry up to 39,000 liters of water. 

The award-winning yacht is built to comply MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) and RINA (Royal Institution of Naval Architects) specifications.

She won first prize at the World Superyacht International for Best Displacement Motor Yacht in 2010. 

Additionally, she is a PADI Certified Training Center and an Approved RYA Water Sports Centre.

She is currently sailing under the United Kingdom flag, she has an annual running cost that goes from $1 to $3 million. 

The SEALYON yacht is not listed for sale, but she’s available for charter.

Her weekly rates go from 325,000 to 375,000 EUR, depending on the season. Consider these prices don’t include expenses. 

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Motor Yacht

Sealyon (ex: Candyscape II) saw the light as a VSY in-house project and embodies all the exclusive features which form the very cornerstone of the shipyard’s commercial mission in the yachting world. This was to conceive and create superior leisure crafts, each with a unique wow-factor - aimed at the discerning client rather than the crowd - and the shipyard’s only tools to engage such interest was in terms of innovative design, hi-technology and unquestionable quality.

Thus VSY’s first project took off in collaboration with Espen Øino and a timeless design which saw the happy blending of the traditional and the modern in restrained, elegant lines and simplicity tempered with rigour, all of which can be seen in her slim clean lines and volumes.

The hull is fitted with the best mechanical/electronic equipment available, including the possibility of joystick control and dynamic positioning. The yacht abounds in such hi-tech equipment in number and size, providing maximum efficiency at low acoustic levels and exceptional manoeuvrability which is clearly evident when moving in the most restricted spaces. A feature of particular note is undoubtedly that of her total respect for the environment. For this she achieved the RINA Green Plus certification and was the first yacht ever to receive this accolade.

But the real feather in the cap of this project was the fact that the Owners chose to include their own brand name in the interior design itself - giving as a result, an eclectic collection of detailed decoration using veneers, fabrics, leathers, metals and stones to create a truly unique floating wonder that VSY has made a reality.

Sealyon (ex: Candyscape II) is undoubtedly a yacht that has fulfilled its mission statement, both on behalf of the yard, who set out to achieve the highest build quality, and for the owners who, in conjunction with their design team at Candy & Candy and furniture manufacturer Oldenburger have created a superbly comfortable, well decorated and detailed interior that meets their exact specifications.

The result of all this? First prize in her category both at the World Superyacht Awards and at the International Yacht Awards by “design et al”, admired for her elegant and comfortable external deck areas, incomparable interior design, environmental engineering, value for money, practical layout and excellent service areas.

• Yacht Builder VSY View profile
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• Interior Designer Candy & Candy No profile available

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SEALYON Viareggio Superyachts

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The split-level master suite shares a private gymnasium with the VIP cabin. A wave and weather artwork adorns the dining saloon and a sun orrery charts the position of the planets. By any standards, the sun deck of this stunning YACHT has an incredible space with a large dining area, an elegant bar and a rotating sunbed.   62m superyacht SEALYON has a 12-meter steel hull fitted with the best mechanical/electronic equipment available, including the possibility of joystick control and dynamic positioning. She is powered by twin CAT 3516B DITA diesel engines and twin screw propellers with a maximum speed of 17 knots. The total energy output for the yacht is 5364 HP/4002 KW. She is the first yacht one to get the RINA Green Plus certification for her total respect for the environment.

Yacht Accommodation

Accommodation in offered in one master suite, one VIP suite, two double cabins and two twin cabins to a total number of 12 guests.

Amenities and Extras

We do have available further amenity, owner and price information for the 61.80m (202' 9") yacht SEALYON, so please enquire for more information.

SEALYON Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht SEALYON displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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Reia, We had a great time on SeaLyon. Everyone on the crew were professional and very helpful. We had one issue with the seas getting rough when we had to anchor out of port one night but other than that everything was great. So glad we were able to get into port in St Tropez. It really made the trip. I'm traveling a lot and going to be very busy for the next several weeks so decided to email you instead of calling. Thanks for everything. J.G chartered in Sardinia & the Cote D’Azur, July

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It's primarily a marketing tool, to show our ability to design different spaces, whether it be a yacht, plane, chalet, palace or apartment. But we live in Monaco, so we spend a huge amount of time on boats. We took this to the Caribbean for Christmas and the new year.

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203’ (62m) VSY SEALYON Superyacht Now for Sale

Posted January 5, 2022 in Brokerage & New Build by Janine St.Denis

The 203’ (62m) Viareggio Superyacht Shipyard superyacht SEALYON is now for sale with Northrop & Johnson Yacht Brokers Kevin Merrigan and Bob Fritsky . The yacht is listed for $33,500,000.

Opulent and striking, SEALYON was launched in 2009. Her impressive design pays homage to the magnificence of the 1930s. She has undergone her 10-year survey. SEALYON’s list of accolades includes World Superyacht Awards winner, International Yacht Awards winner and SBID Design Awards winner.

SEALYON’s interior spaces are welcoming, beautiful and expertly laid out. The centerpiece of her main salon is a Schimmel Grand Piano. This deck also is home to a formal dining table and a full gym. The skylounge entertainment system is second to none. This space is perfect for entertaining and relaxing. A glass elevator takes guests from the bridge deck to the main deck to the lower deck and back.

Twelve are comfortably accommodated in SEALYON’s six staterooms. The yacht’s main deck owner’s suite features 180-degree panorama views, a stunning dressing room and a memorable en-suite bathroom. The VIP outfitted offers all the amenities one needs aboard a superyacht and the four lower deck staterooms, including two kings and two twins that convert to kings, promise on water luxury second to none.

The exterior spaces of SEALYON promise the height of on-water living. From alfresco dining to incredible views, a sundeck with a Jacuzzi and a beach club that provides access to all the water toys, the yacht ensures everyone aboard will enjoy the best of life on the water.

Visit the SEALYON webpage or contact Kevin Merrigan or Bob Fritsky for more information on this yacht for sale. For media requests and photos of this yacht,  contact N&J’s press team .

If you’re interested in  buying  or  selling a yacht , contact the professional team of yacht brokers at Northrop & Johnson today. As a world-leading yacht brokerage, Northrop & Johnson offers access to thousands of luxury  yachts for sale  around the world, including private yachts not publicly advertised for sale. From yacht sales to new construction, contact our team of  yacht brokers  to get the results you need.

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Superyacht SEALYON Prepares for Palm Beach Boat Show

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By Rebecca Bradbury   14 March 2016

The multi-award winning 62m/203ft superyacht SEALYON will be attending the 31 st edition of the Palm Beach International Boat Show , which kicks off in just three days.

Based in Florida , the four-day event attracts an enviable selection of the world’s top charter yachts, including SEALYON , who will be one of the largest and most impressive on show.  

In 2009, she was the first superyacht to ever be launched by the Italian newcomer, Viareggio Super Yachts. New in name only, however, the shipyard boasted an employee roster with years of experience and, as proved by SEALYON, is capable of producing a truly outstanding motor yacht .   

Visitors to the Palm Beach show will not want to miss her stylish Espen Oino-designed exterior nor her glamorous yet contemporary interior from London’s Candy & Candy.

Highlights include a 1930s-esque main salon of Macassar ebony, black lacquer and jet back beading, a two-tier master suite with panoramic views and a large marble bathroom, and a spacious media room equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

The split-level sundeck, however, is sure to become the hub of any charter vacation on board luxury yacht SEALYON. A spa pool and sun pads are located forward while a bar, lounging options and a 12-seater dining table topped with baobab marble veneer stretch across the amidships section.

Aft is an impressive circular sun bed, which automatically rotates to track the sun’s movements and is equipped with a misting system that can cool sun worshippers down at the press of a button.

Other special features include a glass elevator, a retractable swim platform and a commitment to the highest environmental standards.

The yacht can sleep up to 12 guests in six sophisticated staterooms, including a master suite, a VIP suite, two double cabins and two twin cabins.

Visitors to the Palm Beach show will not want to miss her stylish Espen Oino-designed exterior nor her glamorous yet contemporary interior

Currently cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean , she will relocate to the Mediterranean for the upcoming summer season.

For further information on M/Y SEALYON or any other yachts attending the Palm Beach Boat Show 2016 , please contact your preferred charter broker .

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More About SEALYON

SEALYON Yacht

Motoryacht sealyon.

The SEALYON yacht is a 203.4ft / 62m luxury yacht built and launched by yacht builder VSY . Delivered to a proud yacht owner in 2009, this luxury yacht sleeps up to 12 guests in 6 staterooms and has accommodations for 16 crew. She has a beam of 36.1ft / 11m, a draft of 10.5ft / 3.2m, and she measures in at 1,056 gross tons. Her hull is steel and her decks are teak. Her max speed is 17 knots and cruising speed is 15 knots. She is propelled by Caterpillar engines at 2,682 hp each. Her interior design is by Candy and Candy with exterior styling by Espen Oeino .

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Contact: Merle Wood & Associates | web(Contact us at)merlewood.com | +1.954.525.5111

* Not offered for sale or charter to U.S. residents while in U.S. waters unless under a boat show bond or in an FTZ.

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When it comes to purchasing a luxury yacht, like the yachts themselves, pricing may vary greatly. In the event there is no SEALYON yacht price , the industry knowledge of Merle Wood & Associates will help you with everything you need to know in order to make the right decisions when buying a luxury yacht. If you’d like to know the availability of the SEALYON yacht for charter and the weekly rate, view the SEALYON yacht charter price and summary .

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How safe are luxury yachts? What to know after Mike Lynch yacht disaster left 7 dead

The Bayesian was a world-class yacht.

The 19th largest yacht designed by luxury Italian manufacturer Perini , it boasted a sleek interior design by French designer Remi Tessier, a double engine, and one of the tallest aluminum masts in the world. It won multiple awards, including for "best sailing yacht" the year after its release.

But, almost two weeks ago on Aug. 19, the luxurious vessel sank to the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Sicily in an internationally-followed disaster, dumping 22 people aboard into the water and leaving seven dead , including British tech magnate Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah .

"The impossible happened on that boat," Giovanni Costantino, the yacht manufacturer's CEO, told Reuters.

In the wake of the disaster, an ongoing investigation into possible criminal errors committed by the Bayesian's crew and lingering questions surrounding its design underscore the need for proper yacht safety measures and practical ship designs, according to experts.

Italian prosecutors from a nearby town have now widened their investigation into possible criminal actions by the ship's captain in the lead-up to the shipwreck to include two additional crew members, a judicial source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffith are now under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck, days after news broke that investigators are probing whether Captain James Cutfield committed the same crimes.

Authorities are looking into whether Parker Eaton, a ship engineer, failed to protect the ship's engine room and operating systems. Griffith, a sailor on the ship, was on watch duty on the morning the ship sank.

Cutfield "exercised his right to remain silent" when investigators interrogated him on Tuesday, Giovanni Rizzuti, his lawyer, told Reuters.

"First, he's very worn out," Rizzuti said. "Second, we were appointed only on Monday, and for a thorough and correct defense case, we need to acquire a set of data that at the moment we don't have."

Rizzuti did not immediately respond to a request for comment emailed to him by USA TODAY.

Rescuers found the bodies of Chris Morvillo, an American citizen and lawyer for Clifford Chance, his wife, Neda Morvillo, Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, inside the ship two days after the wreck. Recaldo Thomas, the ship's cook who also went by Ricardo, was the first person pronounced dead in the disaster – his body was recovered on the day of the sinking.

Captains must follow safety procedures before storms

Costantino chalked up the boat's fate to a "series of indescribable, unreasonable errors" committed by the crew. The ship's crew made an "incredible mistake" in not preparing adequately for the storm, he said.

Costantino said the crew should have summoned passengers from their rooms earlier, as the storm picked up. The keel, a heavy weight under the ship to counterbalance the ship's large mast, should have been lowered, and portholes should have been closed – both factors that could influence whether the captain is found culpable, according to experts .

Captains should always check weather forecasts and look into local weather patterns, Mitchell Stoller, a maritime expert witness and captain, told USA TODAY . When in stormy weather, captains should also weigh anchor, so that a ship can float over unstable waters, he added.

"The general standard of care in this situation is to monitor the weather, exercise caution, have a night watch, have the engine going, ready to maneuver," he said.

More: Even heroes need a vacation: What to expect from the Disney Destiny cruise ship

Wealthy clients push for impractical designs, expert says

Costantino said the ship's design and construction was error-free. But one yacht design expert disagrees.

"There's so many other factors, and this huge, complex boat is part of it," said Tad Roberts, a British Columbia-based yacht designer who has worked in the industry for nearly 40 years.

The Bayesian's giant mast is part of a trend of bigger and bigger yachts, according to Roberts. He worked on the design of the Asolare, formerly the Scheherazade – at 154 feet long, the largest cold-molded sailing yacht in the world when it was released in 2003, according to its manufacturer, Hodgdon Yacht Services. "It's small today," Roberts added.

Roberts said problems emerge when yacht designers can't say no to wealthy clients' demands for more and more extravagant and overgrown designs.

"The clients are wealthy people. They are very used to getting whatever it is they want," he said.

But owners' requests can compromise security, he said.

"Owners are not naval architects," he said. "They don't understand the issues involved, and trying to explain to them may or may not work, but there are compromises being made all the time."

Yacht buyers are more likely to get a better boat than they would 50 years ago, since yachts are exported and built towards international standards, he said. Still, the worsening effects of climate change and extreme weather are growing risks to anyone sailing the high seas, he added.

"Be aware. That's the biggest part of it," he said. "There's a possibility that things could go bad, that there is risk involved."

More: Investigators seek answers to why luxury superyacht Bayesian sank in storm

Yacht owners install million-dollar, AI-powered security systems

Piracy on yachts is even rarer than sudden storms – only two cases were reported between 2019 and 2023, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre . Still, superyacht owners are investing in James Bond-esque technology in an effort to protect their vessels.

"There's definitely increased concern," said Frederik Giepmans, managing director of safety and security at MARSS, a technology company that offers high-tech surveillance and security systems for superyachts with a price tag "from the hundreds of thousands into millions," he said.

NiDAR, a software program manufactured by MARSS to provide protection for superyachts, can pick up on objects approaching a yacht from the air or water "while underway, at anchor and in port," according to the company's website.

The surveillance system uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to handle data from sensors monitoring all sides of a vessel. The AI system provides "constant, long range monitoring of the air, of the surface, of the underwater, to try and give the crew as much response time as possible," said Giepmans.

That way, yacht owners can pick up on any manner of approaching objects, from "small, fast craft approaching on the surface" to divers and submarines under the water.

But if a threat is detected, a yacht owner's "options to respond are limited," Giepmans said. "You can get out of the way. You can bring people to safety. But, for instance, a more military response is not available to you."

Giepmans pointed to a recent increase in attacks on commercial ships, like attacks carried out by Houthi rebels on ships cruising through the Red Sea. "There's a gap there in terms of security," he said. "Because there isn't really, right now, a way for commercial or private clients, to respond, perhaps, in an appropriate way to these threats."

Luxury yacht owners cruising off the coast of Monaco, for instance, shouldn't be as concerned about a direct threat to their security, as compared with boats sailing through other locations, he said. "It really depends on that, as to what extent they will go to protect their ship."

The greater danger could come from adverse weather events, as the planet warms every year.

Meteorologists have pointed to a water spout, a tornado that spun up over the water amid the storm that hit the Bayesian, as a possible factor in its wreck.

Water temperatures in the area were more than three degrees higher than average that day, the perfect conditions for the spout to form and the likely result of climate change, Rick Shema, a certified consulting meteorologist and former member of the Navy, previously told USA TODAY.

"The water spout was an uncommon occurrence. But again, these things happen, especially in warmer water," he said.

Contributing: Reuters

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.

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Sunken yacht's captain, 2 crew reportedly under investigation in Italy

Rome — The engineer and a sailor from the crew of the luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily , killing British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter along with five other people, have been placed under investigation by Italian prosecutors along with the captain of the vessel, according to the Reuters and ANSA news agencies. CBS News could not immediately reach the prosecutors or lawyers for the Bayesian yacht's crew members to confirm the development, which comes about a week and a half after the vessel capsized on Aug. 19.

Engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffiths, who was on night watch duty when the incident occurred, were reportedly placed under formal investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck a few days after the 184-foot Bayesian yacht's captain, James Cutler, whose lawyers have confirmed that he's a subject of the probe.

After meeting with prosecutors for several days, Cutler, a 51-year-old New Zealander, has declined to answer any further questions, his lawyer said Wednesday.

"The captain exercised his right to remain silent for two fundamental reasons," attorney Giovanni Rizzuti told reporters. "First, he's very worn out. Second, we were appointed only on Monday and for a thorough and correct defense case, we need to acquire a set of data that at the moment we don't have."

Lynch and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among the passengers and one crew members who died when the superyacht sank rapidly during a violent storm in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 19. The capsize of the high-tech vessel quickly raised questions, as another sailboat that had been anchored nearby off the coast of Palermo made it through the storm unscathed.

Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, escaped to a life raft and were rescued by another boat that had been in the vicinity.

According to reports by Italian media, investigators are looking into whether the engineer, Eaton, might have neglected to activate security systems designed to automatically close all the hatches on the vessel, leaving the engine room to flood and possibly causing a power outage and the subsequent rapid flooding of the entire yacht.

Under Italian law, being placed under investigation does not necessarily mean formal charges will follow.

During a press conference on Saturday, prosecutors said the investigation would require the wreck of the Bayesian to be salvaged from the seabed, where it currently sits at a depth of about 160 feet.

Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said his team would work to determine whether the captain, other crew members, or the yacht's manufacturers bear any responsibility for the sinking.

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Yacht Sank in Sicily Due to ‘Endless Chain of Errors,' Ship Maker's Owner Speculates: ‘Everything Was Predictable’

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," argues Giovanni Costantino, who owns the firm that built the vessel in 2008

• Giovanni Costantino — who is the CEO of The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the  Bayesian  in 2008 — blames an "endless chain of errors" for the luxury yacht’s sinking on Monday, Aug. 19
• "Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here," Constantino told Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera  of the storm the boat was caught in
• "An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO claimed to the outlet

The sinking of the luxury Bayesian  yacht off the coast of Sicily this week  resulted from an "endless chain of errors" by the crew, the ship maker's CEO is speculating.

"This episode sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," Giovanni Costantino — who leads The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the  Bayesian  in 2008 — said,  according to CNN .

While speaking to  Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera , Costantino said he believes those on board should not have been in their cabins, as he claims they were, when the Bayesian sank in the early hours of Monday, Aug. 19. 

Many details of why the yacht went into the water so quickly remain unclear and it's not yet known what the passengers and crew were doing before tragedy struck.

The 183-foot British vessel sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday after a "violent storm" while near Porticello, the Italian coast guard said in a statement that was previously obtained by PEOPLE.

"Everything that has been done reveals a very long sum of errors. The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor. And then why didn't the crew know about the incoming disturbance?" Costantino said in his interview, translated from Italian.

Related: Italian Authorities Currently Don’t Have Anyone ‘Under Investigation’ over Luxury Yacht Sinking

"The passengers reported an absurd thing, namely that the storm came unexpected, suddenly. It's not true. Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here. Nothing came suddenly ... Ask yourself, why was no fisherman from Porticello out that night? A fisherman reads the weather conditions and a ship doesn't? The disturbance was fully readable in all the weather charts. One could not not know," he argued.

"An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO asserted.

The coast guard has said 22 people were aboard the  Bayesian  when it sank — 12 passengers and 10 crew — and that 15 of those were subsequently rescued.

The body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered nearby. 

Costantino's comments came as it was reported that five bodies had been found in the search for the missing six people as of Wednesday, Aug. 21, a source close to the rescue operations confirmed to PEOPLE. Authorities have said that their work is ongoing. 

An Italian government official, Massimo Mariani, reportedly named one of the dead as British tech tycoon Mike Lynch . The other bodies have not yet been publicly identified by authorities. 

Lynch was celebrating with family and friends on the yacht following his acquittal in a fraud trial in June, PEOPLE previously reported.

Related: 'We Are in Shock,' Prominent N.Y.C. Attorney's Firm Says After He and His Wife Go Missing in Yacht Sinking

Costantino offered his view of how the tragedy could have been avoided: "To begin with, in a weather alert situation it was inappropriate to have, as I read, a party. Not that evening. The hull and deck needed to be secured by closing all doors and hatches, after putting the guests at the ship's meeting point as per emergency procedure. Then start the engines and pull up the anchor or release it automatically, put the bow to the wind and lower the keel.

"The next morning they would have departed with zero damage." 

When discussing whether the crew were at fault, Costantino reiterated to the Italian outlet that he believes "errors were made."

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," he said. "I as the ship's captain would have moved, but even if for some reason I had to stay there, I would have managed those weather conditions which then, let's face it, weren't so crazy."

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.  

Costantino contended that there would have been "a zero risk if the correct maneuvers had been made and if situations that compromised the ship's stability had not occurred," adding to the newspaper that reports that the boat went down in seconds is "nonsense." He believes the yacht would have "went down" after water "started to enter" within "six minutes."

The remaining missing  Bayesian  passengers are Lynch's daughter Hannah as well as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International  Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy , and New York City-based lawyer  Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda , sources have said.

Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued, PEOPLE previously reported.

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Read the original article on People .

Manslaughter Probe Launched After Bayesian Yacht Sinking Kills British Entrepreneur, Morgan Stanley Chief

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Italian authorities have launched a manslaughter investigation into the captain of the luxury Bayesian sailing yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily last week in a wreck that killed seven people, including Britsh tech entrepreneur Michael Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, and Morgan Stanley International director Jonathan Bloomer.

Italian Coast Guards take part in searches of missing off Porticello near Palermo, on Aug. 21, 2024.

Italian prosecutors will investigate James Cutfield, the captain of the Bayesian, for manslaughter after the ship sank in rough weather overnight on Aug. 18, multiple outlets reported Monday.

The investigation will look into if the crew of the ship appropriately handled the storm that hit the yacht before it capsized, if passengers were warned of imminent danger and if hatches on the ship were left ajar, which would have contributed to its quick sinking.

As part of the probe, the ship will be raised from the waters in which it sank later this year, CNN reported , at the cost of registered owner Angela Bacares, the wife and mother, respectively, of victims Michael and Hannah Lynch.

The Bayesian, named for a mathematical theory, is currently about 50 meters (164 feet) below the surface near the port of Porticello in Sicily, Italy, and sank less than a minute after it capsized.

Officials have said the passengers who died—Michael and Hannah Lynch, Jonathan and Judy Bloomer and Chris and Neda Morvillo—were likely asleep at the time of the sinking.

Notices of investigations into an incident must be issued in Italy before autopsies can be done on victims, Reuters reported , and the opening of a probe does not necessarily mean formal charges will follow.

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Key Background

The Bayesian is a 184-foot luxury sailing yacht with a 246-foot aluminum mast—the tallest of its kind in the world. It is legally owned by Bacares and her late husband "had a lot of pride" in his yacht, a staff member told The Times of London. The Lynch/Bacares family was on board with seven guests and the boat was anchored when a storm hit overnight on Sunday, Aug. 18. The harsh weather included a " waterspout ," a tornado-like swirling column of air and water, that caused the vessel to top over and it was then quickly dragged underwater. Of the 10 passengers, six died in the capsizing and their bodies were recovered last week. There were also 12 crew members on board and one, Recaldo Thomas, also died. Among those resued were Bacares; Charlotte Golunski, a partner at Lynch's Invoke Capital, along with her partner and her baby daughter; lawyer Ayla Ronald and her partner.

Lynch, Bloomer and Morvillo were all involved in a massive fraud trial that saw Hewlett-Packard accuse Lynch and others of artificially inflating the value of his software company, Autonomy, before HP purchased it in 2011. Lynch was indicted for conspiracy and wire fraud in the sale but was acquitted alongside his co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain, who was killed in a car crash in the U.K. the same weekend the Bayesian sank in Italy. Bloomer testified for the defense at Lynch’s trial, according to the Associated Press , and Morvillo was one of the lawyers on the case.

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Sinking of a superyacht adds to questions billionaire Mike Lynch wanted to put behind him

It was a sunny August morning when software entrepreneur Mike Lynch, 59, gathered 10 of his closest friends along with his wife and daughter on the dock of Porto di Milazzo, on the northern coast of Sicily. They had come to celebrate his freedom. Only months before, several of the guests played crucial roles in persuading a San Francisco jury to acquit Lynch of federal charges related to the sale of his software firm Autonomy to HP for $11 billion. 

Five days after the yacht left port, Lynch, his daughter, four guests, and a hired chef were dead in the Mediterranean Sea after a storm flooded the ship. The drowned included the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, a star witness at Lynch’s trial, as well as one of Lynch’s lead defense attorneys. Among the survivors were a former Autonomy exec who went on to become a partner at Lynch’s venture capital firm, a second member of his defense team, and Lynch’s wife, who reportedly owns nearly all his fortune. The same day of the drowning, U.K. news outlets reported that Lynch’s codefendant in the fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, who had also been acquitted, had been fatally run over by a car as he was out jogging—a shocking coincidence.

Less than a week after the tragedy, there are far more questions than answers. Did the yacht named Bayesian —an homage to a statistical theorem for predicting future outcomes—simply fall victim to a terrible storm? How did most of the crew and a few passengers escape, and why couldn’t they reach Lynch and the six others who did not make it out? Italian officials are looking into manslaughter charges, but it’s not yet clear who they may have in their crosshairs. Giovanni Costantino, who runs the Italian Sea Group that owns Perini Navi, the Italian maker of the yacht, had harsh words for the crew, whom he blames. “This is the mistake that cries out for vengeance,” he told Reuters .

There are also huge questions swirling around the business ventures of the man dubbed the “British Bill Gates.” While the Bayesian excursion was to serve as a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal on all charges in the U.S.—where he had spent months under house arrest—the reality is that his legal troubles were far from over. In a January 2022 civil trial, the U.K.’s High Court found that the company, which by then had changed its name to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), had “substantially succeeded” in proving that Autonomy leaders had fraudulently made it look like the company was earning more revenue than it was. In 2019 Autonomy’s CFO was convicted of 16 counts and sentenced to five years in prison. At this time, the U.K. case is in a holding pattern as the judge determines what damages are owed to HPE. (The company’s spokesperson Adam Bauer says HPE is “saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who lost their lives.”)

But Lynch’s passing also looms over Invoke Capital, the venture firm he founded in 2011 and whose managing partner—Charlotte Golunski—survived the yacht disaster and saved her 1-year-old baby. One of Invoke’s most prominent bets was a 2013 seed-stage investment in Darktrace, a cybersecurity firm on whose board Lynch sat until 2018. Darktrace has developed a reputation as a sleek AI cybersecurity startup with ties to spy agencies like MI5 and the U.S. National Security Agency. It also became the target of short-sellers who in 2023 expressed doubt over Darktrace’s financial filings—the same sort of allegations that plagued Lynch’s Autonomy. 

Darktrace insists that the short-sellers’ allegations were baseless, and they say an EY audit it commissioned showed this to be the case. In April Darktrace received a $5.3 billion acquisition offer from the giant private equity firm Thoma Bravo. The deal, which Fortune reported will likely go forward despite Lynch’s death, stood to help rehabilitate Lynch’s business reputation. As of Aug. 14, he and his wife collectively owned 3.21% of the company, which would be worth some $170 million upon the deal’s completion. Invoke Capital has not responded to multiple requests for comment, and Darktrace declined to comment.

Following his U.S. acquittal, Lynch was pleased enough with the state of things that he had begun celebrating weeks before the yacht party. In the days following the not-guilty verdict, Lynch and his wife; Stephen Chamberlain and his wife; the attorney Chris Morvillo—who drowned on the Bayesian —and 20 other lawyers gathered at a restaurant at a hotel near the San Francisco courthouse.

Brian Heberlig, an attorney at Steptoe who gave the closing argument in Lynch’s trial, recalls that Morvillo gave a moving toast, telling those assembled that the trial was more than just a job, but one of their life’s works. “He really was a brilliant man,” Heberlig told Fortune , fighting back tears as he remembered Lynch. “And he ran his legal defense the same way I imagine he ran Autonomy. He let the experts do their jobs, while still having a strong grasp on the material. As he used to say, ‘Let the brain surgeons do the surgery.’”

That night was the last time Heberlig ever saw Lynch or Morvillo.

A ‘virtually unsinkable’ boat

The sailing party departed Aug. 14—five days before the storm—and comprised 12 guests and 10 crew members. The Bayesian was one of the biggest yachts of its kind. Its first stop was a cluster of small islands off the coast of Sicily. Then it jetted across the sea to the Sicilian town of Cefalù, before putting down anchor for the final time on the coast of Palermo, a favorite getaway for the rich and famous, and a former haunt for the Mafia.

Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who reportedly held the couple’s entire $1.1 billion fortune, was jolted awake on Aug. 18 as the boat began to tilt. Glass from a shattered window exploded across the deck, according to reports, cutting her feet as she ran to investigate.

Black and white security  footage  appears to show the outline of what is believed to be the 184-foot sailing yacht, which used call sign 2ICB8, slowly disappearing behind a thicker and thicker veil of rain. Nearby villagers and fishermen say they saw a sea tornado called a waterspout. Soon after, the yacht lay on the ocean floor.

Theories are swirling about why the yacht sank. One holds that a bay door was left open in the storm, causing the ship to flood and sink in minutes. Another holds that the Bayesian’ s 246-foot-tall aluminum mast—one of the tallest in the world— broke in the wind and took the boat down with it.

Most news reports say the yacht sank almost instantly, but the CEO of the company that bought the boat’s maker after it went bankrupt in 2021 disputes that. In a Financial Times report, he called the boat “virtually unsinkable,” and says that it dragged its anchor for 16 minutes before it sank. 

During those fateful moments, a far older nearby yacht, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, built in 1957, was drifting on a similar course as the Bayesian and not only survived, but also came to help. Some onboard saw a red flare shooting across the rainy sky—an emergency signal from those who had fled the doomed yacht, drawing the attention to a life raft filled with 15 of the 22 passengers.

Passenger Golunski, 35, who helped run Autonomy the first year it was at HP, described holding her 1-year old daughter Sophia as she screamed for help. One of Lynch’s most trusted employees, Golunski was a founding partner at Invoke Capital, the London-based firm that backed Darktrace. Lynch’s wife Bacares was also in the life raft along with Clifford Chance lawyer Ayla Ronald, 36, who reportedly texted to her father: “there are deaths.”

The lifeboat survivors were soon plucked from the sea while the Bayesian came to its current resting place 50 meters below the surface. Over the course of the next 72 hours, a team of scuba divers from the Guardia Costiera and specially trained cave divers from the Vigili del Fuoco, the local fire department, used boats and a helicopter to triangulate the yacht’s position. The divers, working in bursts of 8 to 12 minutes, searched the Bayesian’ s six guest suites, master suite, multiple living areas, and dining room.

The body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was the first to be found, floating on the water’s surface. On Wednesday, two days after the wreck, four more bodies were discovered, and on Thursday a fifth. Among them were Lynch and Chris Morvillo of the prestigious law firm Clifford Chance, who had made the controversial decision to have Lynch testify, and questioned him on the stand right before he was acquitted. The others discovered were Morvillo’s wife, Neda, as well as the Morgan Stanley banker and key witness Jonathan Bloomer, who had been a former executive director at Autonomy, and his wife, Judy. The body of Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was pulled from the sea on Friday.

The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency tells Fortune it is in contact with the Italian authorities but would not provide further information. The U.K.’s Foreign Office told Fortune it is providing “consular support to a number of British nationals and their families…and are in contact with the local authorities.”

More questions than answers

Even as loved ones and the survivors begin to come to terms with the human toll of the tragedy, the business world has begun assessing Lynch’s complicated past and his many business dealings. 

Lynch was born of modest means to a nurse and firefighter in a suburb of London. From an early age he showed a proclivity toward technology and a fiery determination. He studied natural sciences at Cambridge, then returned for a PhD in artificial neural networks, the building blocks of artificial intelligence. When he was still studying for his PhD, he started his first venture, Cambridge Neurodynamics, monetizing computerized fingerprint recognition, eventually evolving into Autonomy. 

Founded in 1996 with David Tabizel and Richard Gaunt, Autonomy used an early version of artificial intelligence to quickly scan what’s known as “unstructured data,” especially including language. Autonomy quickly became a darling of the U.K.’s fledgling tech scene, and it was seen as a crowning achievement when, in 2011, the company struck an $11 billion deal to be purchased by HP, now HPE. The deal, however, was quickly engulfed in scandal when a year later the new owner alleged accounting fraud and wrote down its investment by $8.8 billion.

Despite the baggage around Autonomy, Lynch continued to ride high in the tech world through his venture firm, Invoke Capital, which he founded in 2012. One of its most profitable investments was Darktrace, which he backed in 2013 and joined as a board member. By 2016 he told TechCrunch that 60 employees from Autonomy were working at Invoke, that he’d raised a billion dollars to invest in startups, and that Darktrace was worth $500 million.

While fighting the legal battle over Autonomy and building Invoke, Lynch enjoyed the trappings of a mogul. The same year he announced his billion-dollar startup fund, he was sailing the Bayesian , worth an estimated $25 million. He reportedly also owned a $6 million, 69-acre Georgian manor.

By early 2020 Darktrace shared deep connections with Autonomy, including half of Darktrace’s board and six of its eight top executives. The following year Darktrace went public, soaring 40% above its pre-market value. But the victory lap was brief. In September 2022, an acquisition talk between private equity firm Thoma Bravo and Darktrace fell through , sending share prices tumbling. In early 2023, the short-selling firm Quintessential Capital Management published a 70-page report accusing Darktrace of similar misconduct that had sunk Autonomy.

“We are deeply skeptical about the validity of Darktrace’s financial statements,” the report read. Darktrace’s shares plunged as much as 17% after the report was published, though the company said at the time that the management team and board had “rigorous controls in place.” Darktrace hired EY to perform an audit, which stabilized its share price after the accounting firm found the company’s earlier financial results did not need to be restated. Darktrace never publicly released the report, however, with a spokesperson saying at the time that it contained “commercially sensitive information.”

More recently, Darktrace’s CEO Poppy Gustafsson wrote in the firm’s Q4 trading report of “shareholders voting overwhelmingly in favour” of the acquisition, and added the company is “awaiting the conclusion of the remaining regulatory processes.”

Until very recently, Darktrace had sought to distance itself from Lynch and his VC firm. In December, shareholders passed a resolution that rejected Invoke non-executive director Patrick Jacob’s reappointment to its board. This April, Invoke lost the right to that same board seat when it was discovered its shares had fallen below the required 10% threshold. Nonetheless, in a memorial to Lynch, Gustafsson wrote : “Without Mike, there would be no Darktrace. We owe him so much.”

While the Italian authorities continue to investigate the crash site, one thing is certain: The swirl of legal and business battles that surrounded Lynch during his lifetime are likely to continue after his death. A local Italian news site reports that the public prosecutor’s office in a nearby town, Termini Imerese, is looking into allegations of manslaughter surrounding the sunken boat. And two months before Lynch died, former U.K. Secretary of State David Davis reportedly said he was working with Lynch to scrap U.S./U.K extradition agreements that allowed Lynch’s trial to happen in the first place. 

On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Davis told GB News he would continue that fight in memory of Lynch. “We need to get a grip of this,” said Davis. “Mike, when he’d won his case, almost the first thing he did was ring me up and say, ‘We’re going to have to defeat this treaty, we’re going to have to overcome this treaty and get it changed for the better.’”

“I am looking forward to returning to the U.K. and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” Lynch said after the verdict.

Lynch’s desire to extend the legal fight even after his not-guilty verdict reflects the scrappiness he displayed throughout his life. This helped him ascend to the highest rungs of business and moguldom—but the success also came with a tenuous quality as questions about his business dealings dogged him for years. The not-guilty verdict and the pending Darktrace sale meant Lynch was in position to finally cast off that shadow. But now his ultimate legacy is poised to be tied forever to a mysterious and tragic hour on the Mediterranean Sea.

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Questions for Investigators Trying to Unravel Mystery of Luxury Yacht’s Sinking

The investigators searching for answers about the shipwreck, leaving seven dead, face questions about extreme weather and possible human error or problems with the yacht itself.

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By Alan Yuhas

More than 180 feet long, with a mast towering about 240 feet and a keel that could be lowered for greater stability, the Bayesian luxury yacht did not, in the eyes of its maker, have the vulnerabilities of a ship that would easily sink.

“It drives me insane,” Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company that made the ship, said after its wreck last week. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

But the $40 million sailing yacht sank within minutes and with fatal results: seven dead, including the British technology billionaire Michael Lynch, his teenage daughter, four of Mr. Lynch’s friends and a member of the crew. Fifteen people, including the captain, escaped on a lifeboat.

Mr. Lynch had invited family, friends and part of his legal team on a cruise in the Mediterranean to celebrate his acquittal in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

The Italian authorities have opened a manslaughter investigation, searching for answers from the survivors, the manufacturer and the wreck itself. They face a range of questions and possible factors.

An ‘earthquake’ in the sky?

When the Bayesian sank around 4 a.m. on Aug. 19, the waters in its area, about half a mile off the Sicilian port of Porticello, were transformed by an extremely sudden and violent storm, according to fishermen, a captain in the area and meteorologists.

But what kind of storm is still a mystery, compounded by the fact that a sailing schooner anchored nearby did not have its own disaster. Also unclear is whether the crew was aware that the Italian authorities had issued general warnings about bad weather the night before.

Karsten Börner, the captain of the nearby passenger ship, said he’d had to steady his ship during “really violent” winds . During the storm, he said, the Bayesian seemed to disappear behind his ship.

Severe lightning and strong gusts were registered by the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, according to Attilio Di Diodato, its director. “It was very intense and brief in duration,” he said.

The yacht, he said, had most likely been hit by a fierce downburst — a blast of powerful wind surging down during a thunderstorm. His agency put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about possible storms.

Locals have said the winds “felt like an earthquake.” A fisherman in Porticello said that he had seen a flare go off in the early-morning hours. His brother ventured to the site once the weather had calmed about 20 minutes later, he said, finding only floating cushions.

The Italian authorities have so far declined to say whether investigators had seen any structural damage to the hull or other parts of the ship.

Open hatches or doors?

The boat executive, Mr. Costantino, has argued that the Bayesian was an extremely safe vessel that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing. His company, the Italian Sea Group, in 2022 bought the yacht’s manufacturer, Perini Navi, which launched the ship in 2008.

Mr. Costantino said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, would be to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

At a news conference on Saturday, almost a week after the sinking, investigators said the yacht had sunk at an angle , with its stern — where the heavy engine was — having gone down first. The wreck was found lying on its right side at the bottom of a bay, about 165 feet deep.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

Water pouring into open hatches or doors could have contributed to the sinking, experts say, but that on its own may not account for the speed at which such a large boat vanished underwater.

Asked about the hatches at the news conference, the authorities declined to comment on whether they had been found open at the wreck.

The authorities have also not specified whether the boat had been anchored, whether it was under power at the time or whether its sails had been unfurled.

A retracted keel?

The Bayesian had a keel — the fin-like structure beneath a boat that can help stabilize it — that could be retracted or extended, according to its manufacturer. On some yachts, keels can be raised to let the large vessel dock in shallower water, and extended downward to help keep a boat level.

But like the hatches, the status of the keel alone may not explain why a large ship sank with such precipitous speed. Investigators have not disclosed what divers may have seen at the wreck, aside from saying divers had faced obstacles like furnishings and electrical wiring in tight quarters. Officials want to raise the wreck to better examine it, a process that may take weeks.

Human error?

Ambrogio Cartosio, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said at the news conference that it was “plausible” crimes had been committed, but that investigators had not zeroed in on any potential suspects.

“There could be responsibilities of the captain only,” he said. “There could be responsibilities of the whole crew. There could be responsibilities of the boat makers. Or there could be responsibilities of those who were in charge of surveilling the boat.”

It remains unclear what kind of emergency training or preparation took place before the disaster, or what kind of coordination there was during it. So far, none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened the night the ship sank.

Prosecutors said they want to ask more questions of the captain and crew, who have been in a Sicilian hotel with other survivors. They said that neither alcohol nor drug tests had been performed on crew members, and that they have been allowed to leave Italy.

Prosecutors also said they were also investigating why the captain, an experienced sailor, left the sinking boat while some passengers were still on board.

Besides possible manslaughter charges, the authorities are investigating the possibility of a negligently caused shipwreck.

The bodies of five passengers were found in one cabin, on the left side of the yacht, the authorities said. The five were most likely trying to flee to the higher side of the boat and were probably sleeping when the boat started to sink, they said.