A senior officer on a P&O ferry has been arrested over the deaths of three sailors who drowned after their yacht disappeared in the English Channel.

The second officer of the Pride of Bilbao was in charge of the ferry when it is believed to have struck the yacht, the Ouzo, in August.

The 61-year-old was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of causing manslaughter through gross negligence after analysis of the ferry’s voyager data recorder showed it was in the area when the yacht sank.

The bodies of James Meaby, 36, Jason Downer, 35, and Rupert Saunders, 36, were found after their yacht left Bembridge on the Isle of Wight on August 20 for a 12-hour sail to Devon for the Dartmouth Regatta.

No distress call had been made by the yacht, leading coastguards to believe that it must have been run down by a much larger vessel.

The arrested man, from Dover, Kent, was the "officer of the watch" on the Pride of Bilbao at the time of the suspected collision. He was legally in charge of the 577-foot long ferry and responsible for keeping watch for other vessels in the area.

A P&O spokeswoman said: "He was the second officer aboard the ship and his duties included acting as the officer of the watch. He was working in this role on the Pride of Bilbao at the the time that the Ouzo was believed to have sunk."

He had been a P&O employee for 20 years, but had switched to an agency at the beginning of the year.

Forensic officers examined the 37,500 tonne ferry at Portsmouth Ferryport, Hampshire, following the disappearance of the Ouzo after after "something of interest" was seen on its black box data.

Detective Nigel Niven, leading the inquiry for Hampshire Police, said: "Whilst we continue to maintain an open mind as to the cause of this incident, the enquiry is currently focused on the potential involvement of the Pride of Bilbao."

An inquest, which was opened and adjourned into the deaths of the three men, heard that only two of them had time to inflate their lifejackets. Their 25ft Sailfish sloop has not been found. Isle of Wight Coroner John Matthews described last month how Mr Meaby, from Tooting, south London, and Mr Downer, from Kent, were found with their lifejackets manually inflated.

The third crew member, Mr Saunders, 36, also from Tooting, who owned and skippered the yacht, was wearing a lifejacket which had automatically inflated.

Mr Matthews told the hearing how the body of Mr Meaby was discovered in the sea 10 miles south of Nab Tower on August 22 and subsequently the bodies of Mr Downer and Mr Saunders were located south of St Catherine’s Point a day later.

He said the cause of death for Mr Meaby was a combination of drowning and hypothermia while the other two died of drowning.

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• Linklaters trounces rivals as UK's biggest firm
• Clifford Chance profits plunge 37 per cent
• Casual drinkers hit by spread of 'dry' zones