The boss of a firm which makes and sells vessels like Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht has questioned why its crew were not in a “state of alert” when a storm hit.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the company that makes the Perini vessels, told Sky News they “are absolutely safe”, suggesting human error was behind the boat going down.
He said the “event” that capsized the British-flagged luxury yacht Bayesian off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Monday “could have been managed with an average amount of attention”.
“There are a whole series of operations that highlight a chain of negative events that were negatively managed on board,” he said.
“The first is why the ship and the crew were not in a state of alert, given the storm from the weather charts that everyone could read and in particular had to be read by the ship’s bridge guard, the event was absolutely readable and expected.”
He said the yacht’s crew should have been in a state of “alert management”, meaning everyone on board had to be in the main lounge, which is the assembly point, rather than their cabins.
No one should have been on deck, while the captain, James Cutfield, should have been inside with the engines to manage the ship, he said.
“The ship, both the hull and the superstructure, all the openings, were supposed to be closed,” he added.
Image: Pic: Perini Navi/The Italian Sea Group
No official cause has been given for why the boat sank as powerful winds battered the area overnight and reports of waterspouts, which are like tornados that form over water.
Some experts have speculated the vessel may have taken on water from a freak wave through open hatches or doors or capsized as gusts hit the huge mast.
Prosecutors investigating the sinking are continuing to question the survivors, with the captain among those to be interviewed.
Mr Costantino asked: “Why was the ship in that situation? The storm was readable… We must ask ourselves why none of the fishermen in the port of Porticello went out at sea that night? Why did no one go out to sea?
“Everyone knew about the storm. And then, if a fisherman knew, why the commander of a ship of such importance, with guests of such level and importance, with 12 guests on board… Why wasn’t he in an alert situation?”
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The vessel sank in as little as 60 seconds with 22 people on board, 12 passengers and a crew of 10, according to the Italian coastguard.
Six bodies have been found, including British tech tycoon Mr Lynch, while his 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still missing.
Mr Costantino has insisted there are no flaws with the design and construction of the yacht and that the Perini vessels “are the safest in the most absolute sense”, with their structure and keel making them what he called “unsinkable bodies”.
He said news of the sinking “put me in a state of sadness on one side and of disbelief on the other”.
Four British inspectors are also in Porticello and have begun a preliminary assessment of events.
It is understood they will look at all relevant aspects of the sinking, including the design, stability, and operation of the vessel. They will also examine the effects of the weather conditions experienced.
A spokesperson for the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said: “The MAIB is investigating the foundering of the UK-registered large yacht Bayesian off the northern coast of Sicily on 19 August 2024.
“It would not be appropriate for the MAIB to comment further while the investigation is ongoing.”
Sky News has also contacted Italian investigators, Italy’s coastguard and captain James Cutfield for comment.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Image: Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Image: Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
The police watchdog says it is investigating after a teenager who was tasered by an officer on a motorway was fatally hit by a car.
Logan Smith, 18, was being taken to hospital in an ambulance at about 11pm on Sunday when the vehicle stopped on the hard shoulder of the M5 in Somerset.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the vehicle stopped on the northbound carriageway “due to the concerns of ambulance staff”.
Mr Smith got out of the ambulance near the junction for Weston-super-Mare and “entered the live lanes of the motorway”, the watchdog added.
Police were called and an officer arrived at the scene, with bodycam footage showing the officer discharging their Taser, causing the teenager to fall to the ground.
“Soon afterwards” Mr Smith was struck by a car travelling on the southbound carriageway, the IOPC said.
The watchdog said it was investigating the “actions and decisions taken by Avon and Somerset Police prior to the death of a teenager”.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “My thoughts and sympathies are with Logan’s family and friends and everyone affected by this shocking and tragic incident.
“We want to reassure everyone that we will independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the use of a Taser.
“After being notified by the force, we sent our investigators to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.
“We have taken initial accounts from the officer and ambulance staff involved.
“We met with Logan’s family on Tuesday, to give our condolences, explain our role and to provide some further detail about our investigation, including a Taser being discharged during the incident.
“We will continue to keep them updated and they request that their privacy be respected at such a difficult time.”
The coroner has been informed and formal identification and a post-mortem have taken place.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
Image: North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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