Captain defends himself after ferry tragedy off Cyprus

“The waves tore off the ferry’s bow,” the Filo Jet captain told a court while defending himself after the vessel sank off northern Cyprus. Twenty people remained missing, including a 12-year-old girl and her six-year-old brother. At least eight people had been confirmed dead.

The catamaran sank within minutes on Sunday after leaving Kyrenia, also known as Girne, for Taşucu in Turkey. The dead were Turkish nationals, as were most of those still missing. Two missing people were Turkish Cypriots.

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The waves tore off the ferry’s bow

The cause of the sinking had not been established. The captain and the rest of the crew were arrested on suspicion of possible negligence, while 16 people in total were under investigation. They included an employee of the ferry’s owner, Filo Denizcilik, and several public officials. A judge ordered nine suspects, including the captain, held in pretrial custody, according to Turkish and Cypriot media.

Accounts from some of the 239 survivors added to investigators’ concerns about how the incident was handled. One survivor said the captain had tried to leave the ferry before it sank. Others said the weather was unsuitable when the vessel departed. “We told him to stop, several times. But he did not stop,” a survivor told the Cyprus Mail.

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We told him to stop, several times. But he did not stop

Authorities in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus said officials who authorized the voyage had been suspended and that investigations were continuing. A police official told the court that the passenger count did not exceed the ferry’s capacity, that the vessel could withstand waves up to three meters high, and that the local weather agency had not considered navigation conditions prohibitive.

Specialized vessels and divers, including teams sent from Ankara, were searching for the black box. The wreck lies more than 500 meters below the Mediterranean, making its recovery potentially important to the investigation.

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Everyone who granted the authorizations and allowed the ship to depart has been suspended. Investigations against them are ongoing