Turkish opposition deputy leader cites survivor claims over Kyrenia ferry sinking
Ali Mahir Basarir said survivors alleged the ferry captain refused requests to return to port after the vessel began taking on water.
Kyrenia, Cyprus. Turkish opposition New Party deputy leader Ali Mahir Basarir said survivors of a ferry that sank off Kyrenia on Sunday told him they had asked the captain to return to port after it began taking on water, but he refused.
Basarir said the allegations, including claims concerning the vessel, its technical team, captain and staff, should be investigated and those responsible held accountable.
Survivor accounts
Basarir said on Wednesday that every survivor he met during hospital visits had given the same account.
“During our hospital visits, the survivors said, ‘we begged the captain to return, but he did not listen to us’. Every survivor we met said that,” he said.
He said a delegation would follow the matter, describing the allegations as “very serious”.
Claims over vessel and crew
Basarir said there were serious claims concerning a previous accident, repairs made after it, and whether the ferry should have been used for passenger transport.
“We want and expect these claims to be investigated by the two countries and for those who are really responsible to be held accountable,” he said.
Basarir visited northern Nicosia’s Dr Burhan Nalbantoglu hospital on Monday. One survivor told him in footage that passengers repeatedly asked the captain to stop after the ferry began taking on water.
“We told him to stop. We were telling him so much to stop. He did not stop,” she said, adding that the vessel was “flying into the sky and landing back on the sea”.
Additional allegations
The captain, later named as Mustafa Oz, also faced an allegation from local boat owner Mustafa Koc, who told Turkish television channel NTV that Oz was the first person to leave the sinking ferry.
Koc said he took his touring boat to the vessel as it began to capsize and rescued people, including the captain and first mate.
Questions have also been raised over the authenticity of Oz’s captain’s licence, which was reportedly issued by the Republic of Honduras in 2024.
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