ROME: The captain of a superyacht that sank during a storm off Sicily last week, killing seven people, decided not to respond to prosecutors’ questions on 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 on 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.
Captain of superyacht that sank off Sicily doesn’t respond to prosecutors’ questions, lawyer says
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Captain of superyacht that sank off Sicily doesn’t respond to prosecutors’ questions, lawyer says
- James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealand national, is under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges
Sri Lanka targets 3 million tourists to aid cyclone recovery
- The tourist arrival target, which is an ambitious 27 percent increase over the previous year, will help Sri Lankans recover from Cyclone Ditwah
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is targeting 3 million tourist arrivals in 2026, a top official said on Monday, after a record 2.36 million last year, as the country seeks to boost revenue and support recovery from Cyclone Ditwah.
Famous for its pristine beaches, ancient temples and Ceylon Tea, tourism is Sri Lanka’s second-largest foreign exchange earner with $3.2 billion in revenues in 2025.
The tourist arrival target, which is an ambitious 27 percent increase over the previous year, will help Sri Lankans recover from Cyclone Ditwah, which hit the island nation at the end of November killing 645 people, said Vijitha Herath, minister of foreign affairs and tourism.
Torrential rains and hundreds of landslides damaged over 110,000 houses as well as key roads, railroads, and bridges causing $4.1 billion in damage according to World Bank estimates.
Growth, which was projected at 3.1 percent for 2026, was reduced to 2.9 percent by the International Monetary Fund in December. An IMF delegation is expected in Colombo this month to conduct the fifth review of a $2.9 billion program with Sri Lanka.
“We are proud that Sri Lanka still managed to record the highest-ever tourism numbers. We are hopeful that tourism revenue will also continue to grow and this will help our economy at a crucial time,” Herath told reporters.
Sri Lanka is also eyeing about $500 million in investment in the tourism sector in 2026 after attracting $329 million from 126 projects last year, said Buddhika Hewawasam, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
