This is the British chief engineer facing an inquiry following the tragic sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, it emerged today.
Tim Parker-Eaton, 56, from Bedfordshire, and fellow Briton Matthew Griffiths, 22, join Kiwi captain James Cutfield on the official list of those warned they are being formally investigated for shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.
Seven people died when the £30m yacht sank in a storm off the town of Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily, in the early hours of August 19, including tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Mr Parker-Eaton, of Clophill, Beds, was the ship’s engineer, while seaman Mr Griffiths is said to have been on night watch when disaster struck at about 4am.
The superyacht’s data shows it was hit by a violent storm gust at 3.50am and sank 16 minutes later at 4.06am. But it was not 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) faces investigation following tragic sinking of superyacht Bayesian
Seven people died when the £30m yacht sank in a storm off the town of Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily. Pictured: Parker-Eaton (left)
A photograph provided on August 19 by the Perini Navi Press Office shows the ‘Bayesiano’ sailboat, in Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
Mr Parker-Eaton, 56, from Bedfordshire, and fellow Briton Matthew Griffiths, 22, join Kiwi captain James Cutfield (pictured) on the official list of those who have been warned they are being formally investigated for shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.
One of the key questions prosecutors are addressing is how all but one of the crew survived the disaster while six passengers died.
Losing their lives along with Mike and Hannah Lynch were the ship’s chef, Antiguan-Canadian Recaldo Thomas, Morgan Stanley International bank president Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, and Clifford Chance’s attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda.
The chef’s body was found floating in the water on the same day the yacht sank. The other bodies were found days later by specialized divers in two cabins inside the yacht.
Mr Parker-Eaton is believed to have previously lived in Bedfordshire, where his elderly parents are believed to be dead.
Yesterday the family home, which according to Land Registry records still belongs to Tim’s mother Dororthy, was empty and had a sold sign on it.
His father, Bob Parker-Eaton, OBE, who died aged 83 in 2014, was also an RAF wing commander in the 1950s and joined the board of British Airways, once the world’s largest holiday airline, which ceased operations in 2005.
Cutfield’s lawyer, Aldo Mordiglia, who works in Genoa, said that “as far as he knew” his client and the other crew members who had stayed at a hotel near Porticello after the disaster so they could be questioned by authorities “had been allowed to leave and return home.”
Mr Cutfield, 50, is believed to have returned to his home on the Spanish island of Mallorca, while Mr Parker-Eaton also lives there, while Mr Griffiths’ residence is unknown.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were killed in the Bayesian tragedy when their superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily.
The British-flagged Bayesian superyacht (pictured) was owned by tech mogul Mike Lynch
Recaldo Thomas, head chef of the Bayesian, was the first person to be recovered after the yacht sank last Monday
Judy and Jonathan Bloomer died on the Bayesian when it capsized in the water.
The bodies of Neda and Chris Morvillo, photographed in 2018, were also recovered last week.
Authorities are also said to be considering placing the first officer, Dutchman Tijs Koopmans, 33, under formal investigation.
No charges have been officially brought against any of the crew and, under Italian law, being under investigation does not necessarily mean that charges will be brought, as it will be up to an investigating judge to decide, once the case has been submitted, whether there is sufficient evidence to go to trial.
A defence source told MailOnline: ‘This investigation will take many, many months and to begin with it will have to wait until the Bayesian is raised from the seabed, which may not happen until October.
‘It will also be a laborious operation, so it will be a long time before we know anything for certain against any of those who have been placed under formal investigation by the Palermo prosecutors.’
According to local media reports, Mr Cutfield and the other crew members have been allowed to leave Italy for the time being.
Mr Eaton-Parker, pictured here for the first time, has long been associated with the Bayesian, serving as its chief engineer since its launch in 2013, when it was known as Salute.
He was closely involved in the installation of its 75-metre (246-foot) aluminium mast, The Times reported last week.
Mr Cutfield (pictured) is now under investigation for shipwreck and manslaughter.
Search boats returned to shore on Friday after Hannah Lynch’s body was discovered
Italian prosecutors held a press conference on Saturday where it was revealed that the victims were unable to escape because they were sleeping through the storm.
Following the tragedy, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of Italian Sea Group, owner of Perini Navi, the company that built the Bayesian, said that “human error” had caused the sinking because the crew was “not prepared” for the storm and “the hatches were left open.”
There are also reports that the Bayesian’s retractable keel, which helps maintain stability, was not fully deployed.
The 56-metre Bayesiano, famous for its 76-metre aluminium mast, is currently lying at a depth of 165 feet, just off Porticello, and there are also growing concerns about the more than 18,000 litres of fuel on board, which could cause an environmental disaster.
Mr Cutfield and the surviving crew were expected to leave Palermo later today on a business jet scheduled to land from Majorca.
The news came as a crowdfunding campaign was launched in Mallorca, where many of the Bayesian crew lived, and more than 5,000 euros had been raised for their expenses and immediate needs.
He and others on the Spanish island had been temporarily housed in a hotel with other survivors near Palermo while they were being questioned.
The survivors’ departure to their base had been delayed because they lost their passports when the Bayesian sank earlier this month.
According to Italian media, Parker-Eaton was placed under investigation by judicial authorities because an engineer should have supervised the “closing of the hatches”, but this was allegedly not carried out.
Mr Griffiths, who is believed to have French nationality as well as British nationality, was under investigation, reportedly because he was allegedly on duty as the storm approached.
Meanwhile, an environmental ship has arrived on site ready to deploy flotation barriers in case of a leak in the Bayesian’s fuel tanks.