By Murat Yıldız
Before Filo Jet sank off northern Cyprus on August 30, crew members had discussed steering problems, repeated equipment faults and the possibility that the ferry might sink. On an earlier crossing, passengers warned the captain that the vessel was taking on water and asked him to turn back. He continued the voyage, according to police testimony presented at Kyrenia District Court on October 23.
The high-speed catamaran had 267 people aboard when it sank. As of October 23, 27 bodies had been recovered and one person remained missing. Police also told the court that the voyage data recorder (VDR) held no bridge audio from the final sailing. The sound recording had stopped two days before the disaster.
The court disclosures have sharpened questions Bosphorus News sent to Türk Loydu, Filo Denizcilik and maritime authorities in Türkiye and northern Cyprus on August 30–31. None had answered by October 28.
What the Crew Said
Assistant Police Inspector Mehmet Mannaş described the recordings at the October 23 hearing, according to the Turkish Cypriot public broadcaster Bayrak Radio Television Corporation (BRTK). The conversations covered steering problems, generators, exhaust equipment, radar, security cameras and electrical faults. Crew members also discussed maintenance spending and whether the ferry would last another season.
Bosphorus News has not independently heard the VDR audio, which has not been released publicly. The quotations come from police accounts presented in court and reported by BRTK. Mannaş cited a conversation between two crew members:
"We're the only ones aboard still in good shape. Everything else is half-finished."
Crew conversation presented at the October 23 hearing, reported by BRTK. Translated from Turkish.
Yenidüzen and Bugün Kıbrıs attributed the remark to the second engineer. BRTK described an exchange between two crew members without identifying the speaker. The publicly available accounts do not settle who said it.
At the October 16 hearing, police described a conversation about a steering failure the previous year. Crew members said the ferry had come within roughly 200–300 meters of an approaching vessel. Bosphorus News has not seen navigation data corroborating that estimate.
At the October 23 hearing, defense lawyers disputed whether the recordings established a fault in the main steering system. Police said the conversations indicated problems with the aft joystick steering controls, but no audio recording had yet established a fault in the forward main steering controls. The defense argued that a problem with the aft controls could not have caused the sinking. Investigators said specialists would examine the steering equipment.
Other reports of the hearings described a crew member saying a company official knew about the faults. Crew members also reportedly discussed a possible sale of the ferry and complained that the operator was reluctant to spend money on maintenance. Their remarks alone cannot establish what management knew or whether a sale was planned. Police separately described June repair photographs reportedly sent to a company official.
The Recorder Fell Silent on August 28
According to BRTK's October 9 account of the court proceedings, footsteps were heard at about 20:30 on August 28, shortly before the VDR audio stopped. Other reports put the interruption at 20:39. Police have announced neither a cause nor a finding of deliberate interference. Specialists were continuing to examine the device's other data.
By October 23, police had listened to 32 days of recordings. BRTK reported 66 days of material, with another 34 days still to be examined, although its October 16 report referred to 68 days. The difference remains unexplained in the published accounts.
Only selected conversations and police findings have been reported from the hearings; no verbatim transcript has been released. No bridge audio from August 30 has been disclosed.
Another unanswered question concerns an email sent by second officer M.N.S. to four company representatives on August 28. Accounts of the October 16 hearing say digital investigators confirmed it was sent and found an indication that it had been opened, but could not recover its contents. Who opened it, and whether it warned of any defect, remain unknown.
A June Survey and Later Repair Evidence
Bosphorus News obtained part of Filo Jet's Türk Loydu class certificate before then-Transport Minister Erhan Arıklı released a fuller set of documents. The certificate was issued at Taşucu on June 2, 2026, and the full document records an annual survey on the same date. Its stated validity extended beyond the day of the sinking, subject to the requirements for retaining class. The documents do not disclose the June survey findings or any outstanding conditions of class. Those details belong to a separate Ship Status Report, which Bosphorus News had requested but had not obtained in its earlier investigation.
At the September 18 hearing, police described WhatsApp photographs dated June 17 showing what they said was a makeshift repair to damage at the forward port-side structure. Although taken after the June 2 survey, the images do not show when the damage occurred or whether it existed during that inspection. According to Mannaş's testimony reported by BRTK, the photographs were sent to the master and a company official then wanted for questioning. Police said a crew member had carried out the work at the master's direction.
Investigators were examining both the repair and whether it had been reported to the Ports Department. Engineers consulted during the inquiry reportedly considered specialist shipyard work necessary. The photographs concern one repair, not every fault the crew discussed. No final expert finding has linked that work to the sinking.
At the October 2 hearing, Mannaş said suspects had acknowledged in voluntary statements that watertight compartment doors were open before departure. He said closed doors could have limited the movement of water into other compartments and allowed more time to evacuate passengers. Their role in the sinking and loss of life remains under technical examination.
At the October 16 hearing, Mannaş quoted a remark attributed to the master:
"This is no ship, and its steering is no good."
Remark attributed to the master at the October 16 hearing, reported by BRTK. Translated from "Bu gemi gemi değil, dümen dümen değil."
The Certificates and Clearance Records
In its examination of the documents released after the disaster, Bosphorus News verified a Turkish Cypriot endorsement based on the master's Honduran certificate and a Türk Loydu class certificate for the ferry. The published papers did not include the separate craft-and-route type rating described in the applicable High-Speed Craft Code. Its absence from the released documents does not mean it was never issued.
A separate investigation into registry, clearance and insurance records identified conflicting public registry entries and no available document settling who authorized the final departure. It also examined an Istanbul commercial-court judgment referring to 29 deficiencies in Türk Loydu material from 2018. Those older findings cannot be treated as evidence of the vessel's condition in August 2026.
Police told the court in September that the vessel's papers had been checked and were in order. Arıklı also maintained that Filo Jet held the necessary operating documents. Those statements do not supply the underlying survey findings, the craft-and-route rating or the complete departure file. The records available to Bosphorus News still do not establish which repairs were inspected, how the June damage was addressed or who gave the final clearance.
Questions Sent in August, Still Unanswered
On August 30, Bosphorus News sent written questions to the Turkish Cypriot Ministry of Public Works and Transport, its Ports Department and Türkiye's maritime administration. Further questions followed on August 31 to those authorities, Türk Loydu and Filo Denizcilik. None had replied by October 28.
Türk Loydu was asked for the June survey findings, the Ship Status Report, required repairs and any outstanding conditions of class, as well as the capacity in which it inspected the ferry. Questions to maritime authorities and the operator covered the master's vessel-and-route qualifications, the registry and safety documents, departure clearance, and the insurance or financial security accepted for passenger service. They also sought the weather and sea-state assessments behind the initial hold and subsequent authorization to leave Kyrenia on August 30.
Filo Denizcilik said after the sinking that it had set up a crisis desk and was coordinating with rescue teams. Its statement did not answer the questions sent on August 31. Those questions concerned the vessel's documents and operating procedures; the crew's VDR conversations had not yet been disclosed.
The lack of replies is not evidence that the required documents or authorizations were absent. It leaves Bosphorus News without the underlying records needed to test the crew's accounts against the vessel's inspection, repair and departure history.
Expert Findings Still Outstanding
Kyrenia District Court extended the detention of nine suspects by seven days on October 23. They include the master, other crew members and a company director. The investigation concerns alleged deaths caused by negligence and carelessness. Defense lawyers questioned delays in obtaining technical evidence from Türkiye and challenged aspects of the police inquiry. No criminal responsibility has been established.
BRTK reported that investigators were seeking expert assessments in northern Cyprus and from a delegation expected from Türkiye. Engineers were examining recovered structural fragments, while the inquiry into the Ports Department continued. The official Turkish Cypriot news agency Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs (TAK) has also reported on the court proceedings.
No final expert report explaining the sinking or the interrupted VDR audio was publicly available on October 28. The survey findings, repair records and departure documents requested in August remained unavailable to Bosphorus News, as did company correspondence that could clarify the crew's claims.
Sources: BRTK, Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs, Yenidüzen, Bugün Kıbrıs, Kıbrıs Haberci, Filo Denizcilik, Türk Loydu documentation, Bosphorus News review and reporting.